More More Happy Christmas
by Gemini Star01
Summary: Hey guys, do you ever wonder why the Spirits chose us? A winter break certain gradeschoolers should have remembered forever...
1. Blackout

I like this fic. I started writing it about the time I started rehearsals for _A Christmas Carol_ at my favorite theatre house. Even though that was back in very early October, I decided it would be better to wait a little while and post it at a more…vaguely Christmas-y time. And it's not your average Frontier Christmas fic, either, so buckle up for the ride.

Oh, and I chose Odaiba as the setting for two main reasons. One, it is after all where the first Digimon really came to a climax, but it's mostly because Odaiba is an artificial island within the boundaries of Tokyo. Artificial as in man-made, profoundly electronic. It seams perfect for the Digimon to appear there, you know?

BTW, I forgot Tomoki's older brother's name, but Yutaka sounded about right. If that's not it…whoops. Too late.

The writing style of the opening is based on the chapter beginnings of the shoujo manga _Nana_.

**__**

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or anything to do with it. I am just, quite simply, utterly and completely obsessed.

****

More More Happy Christmas

Chapter 1: Blackout

_"Hey guys, do you ever wonder why the Spirits chose us? There were tons of kids at the station that day. What did we do?"_

"Ophanimon said that the Spirits reacted to our hearts, right?"

"I don't think that's the whole story. There's gotta be more to it."

"Here we go again, another of Junpei's crazy conspiracy theories."

"Hey, I'm serious! There's got to be a reason why they chose us_, out of everyone there."_

"You know…He might have a point."

"It is sort've strange."

"You know what's stranger? When all this started, I could have sworn that we'd met somewhere before…"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

****

Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District

December 18th, 1996 - 4:47 PM

The door of the small, humble electronic story opened and closed with the light ring of a bell, announcing the arrival of a rather ill-tempered six year old boy. His auburn-brown eyes were scrunched together with the rest of his angry little face, brown hair falling freely around it. He was wearing a heavy red T-shirt, poking out from under an orange sweater and blue jeans, a shiny pair of square goggles dangling loosely around his neck. He stormed to the back of the shop like he'd owned the place…and all things considered, it might as well be true.

"It's not fair!" He exclaimed loudly as he entered the back room.

His uncle, a relatively older man with slightly graying brown hair, paused his work of fixing an old TV set to look down at his nephew. "Hello, Takuya."

The little boy pouted up at him. "Uncle Hiro, I'm moving it with you! I'm running away from home, and I'm gonna stay here! I'm not going back again, ever!"

"Never ever?" His uncle grinned, glancing at the backpack Takuya carried. It seamed to be stuffed to the brim with comic books, action figures and hand-held video games.

"Never ever!" The boy insisted, stomping his foot stubbornly. "Never ever-ever-ever-ever!"

The man sighed, setting down his tools and lowering to the ground to be level with his nephew. "What's the matter, Taku-kun? You've got no reason to run off!"

"Yes-huh!" The boy exclaimed. "Daddy's always at work, at Mommy never listens to me no more! All she cares about is stupid Shinya!"

"Auw, Sport…" His uncle reached over and mussed the little boy's hair. "Shinya's just a little guy, he needs a lot of your mom's time. And as his big brother, you need to help her out with that."

"Well, I won't do it!" Takuya insisted, sticking out his tongue. "I don't wanna be a big brother! I'm running away, and nothing nobody says is gonna stop me!"

With that, he stormed off, crouching down next to a partially-repaired computer and pulling a couple of action figures from his backpack.

His uncle shook his head, picking up the phone and dialing his sister-in-law's number. "Kids these days…"

****

( - )

The public library spent a large portion of the winter vacation somewhat abandoned, and today was one of the worst. With dark storm clouds rolling in to cover the already gray sky, most of the collection's usual patrons had chosen other prospects, like staying home and boarding their windows.

The only sound echoing through the wooden halls was the light tip-tap-tapping of a computer keyboard, which echoed from the door to the computer room, which was standing ajar.

A sever year old boy sat in the chair, typing away on the computer as the internet browser scanned through the search engine. His dark brown hair was cut short, coming to a stop just over his brown eyes, which were focused intently on the screen in front of him. He was a bit pudgy all over, dressed in a heavy yellow jacket over a white shirt and blue jeans, kick king his feet slightly as he muttered to himself.

"All right!" He was saying to the air, grinning. "These tricks are awesome! I can't wait to give this one a try!"

The squeaking of an old cart soon reached his ears, followed by the soft sigh of the Head Librarian as she hovered in the door of the computer lab. "More magic tricks, Shibuyama-san?"

"Yes ma'am!" Junpei Shibuyama piped, turning around to smile warmly at the old woman. "I've found some good ones!"

"I'm glad." The Librarian nodded, pushing the cart onward. "But you might want to head home soon, dear. Your mother will worry, and you don't want to be caught in this storm."

"Okay." The seven year old swiveled his chair around, turning his eyes back to the glowing screen of magic.

****

( - )

Izumi Orimoto liked cold, windy days.

It was a strange thing to most people that this adorably perky little six year old would be so fond of the drab and dreary weather, but it was true. She seamed more the type to enjoy sunny days, with her long golden hair and bright blue eyes, both of which were inherited from her half-Italian father. Yet she would often be seen splashing through puddles and dancing through the winds, wrapped snuggly in her purple hoodie, blue-jean skirt and heavy purple stockings before running happily into her nice, warm home.

Having completed her traditional storm-romp, the six-year-old busied herself in the kitchen for her snack. With Daddy working late tonight, she knew she had a big plate of his famous Pasta Italiano with meatballs and special tomato-cheese sauce waiting for her, to hold her over until dinner time. She went straight for the fridge, dumping the contents of the plastic container onto a plate and setting it in the microwave.

"Three, two, five and…Start!" She piped brightly, standing on tip-toe on a kitchen chair to typein the numbers just as her father had taught. The machine whirred to life, the fan buzzing as the light shot on and the plate began to turn slowly.

Izumi smiled brightly and jumped down from the chair, padding in her sock feet to gaze out the window at her delightfully windy day.

****

( - )

"Oh…Tomoki, no!"

The toddler looked up at his mother, wide brown eyes blinking innocently. A floppy orange had rested atop his mop of mousy brown hair, matching the orange overalls he wore over his tiny little body. His little three-year-old hands reached up to grip the edge of the counter, stretching for the cell phone that sat just out of his reach.

Mrs. Himi pulled her younger son's hands away and scooped him up, clicking her tongue. "Now, now." She scolded lightly, tapping his nose. "You shouldn't play with Yutaka's things."

"Yutaka no no?" Tomoki asked, blinking innocently.

"That's right." The woman smiled. "That's Yutaka's toy, and you know he wouldn't like it if you…"

"Mom!" As if on-cue, the twelve year old eldest of the family came out of his room very suddenly. "My laptop's crashed again!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear." His mother sighed. "But maybe it's for the best, what with this storm and all…"

The older boy grumbled, retreating to his room to stuff the offending device under his bed. His mother sighed, setting her youngest son down so that he waddled happily to hug his brother around the legs.

"Now remember, Yutaka, you said you'd watch Tomoki tonight while Dad and I go out…"

"Yeah, yeah, I remember…" The boy sighed and looked down at his brother.

Tomoki smiled up at him broadly and happily. "Onii-san!" He cooed.

"Well, it's nice to see you two getting along." Their mother smiled warmly, even as Yutaka rolled his eyes rolled his eyes. "Now don't forget, if you need us…"

Tomoki wasn't old enough to understand the string of sentences that followed, nor did he have any need to do so. He stopped trying to get his brother's attention as he gazed around the room like an adorable little bobble head doll.

And, because it was just at his eye level, he was the only one who saw as the discarded laptop suddenly sparked to life…

****

( - )

Two boys just reaching the age of six walked together down the chilled winter streets.

From a distance, the two would seem to be mirror images, and up closer it was only minutely resolved. They had the same blue eyes, the same gently curved face, and were exactly the same height. However, the hair of the boy on the right was vaguely darker and slightly longer, hanging loose and smooth around his face. He was wrapped in a navy blue wind breaker, a blue and yellow tiger-striped bandana tied around his neck. His companion's hair was shorter, thicker and oh-so-slightly lighter. He wore a heavy white sweatshirt with blue sleeves and clutched his brother's hand with warmth and care.

The two walked slowly through the abandoned neighborhood, not speaking and making sure to pass within the light of the street lamps, which had illuminated with the coming of the dark that accompanied the blanket of clouds.

After a long while, the bandana boy spoke. "Kouichi-nii, are you okay now?"

"Yeah…I'm okay, Kouji." The elder of the two rubbed the chilling remains of tears from his cheek. He sniffed lightly. "I just hate it when Mommy and Daddy fight."

"Me too." Kouji Minamoto pulled his brother's hand with his own to fold them in front of him and blow on them. From the look on his face, he would have been perfectly happy to sit down and cry right alongside his twin, but couldn't think of any constructive reason to do so.

Kouichi Minamoto noticed this and steered his brother towards a bus stop bench, situated with a light post hanging just above them. The two boys huddled together, sharing body heat and warm breath, pulling their hands in to tuck them within the cloth of their sleeves.

"…Do you think they know we're gone?" Kouji asked softly, snuggling closer to his brother.

"Mommy does." Kouichi whispered with total confidence. "An' she's probably worried about us, too."

Their eyes met sadly. Neither of them wanted to hurt their parents, especially not their mother, but there came a time when anyone would need to get away from the shouting and the yelling…

"Hey, Kouji?"

"Yeah?"

"What'sa de-vor-su?"

Kouji thought for a while, but shook his head. "I dunno."

"It must be something bad. Daddy says it to Mommy sometimes, when he gets really mad." Kouichi whispered softly, looking down at his dangling feet. "It's gotta be bad, 'cause every time Daddy says it, Mommy cries."

There was another long silence between them as the counted each other's icy, visible breaths. Then, Kouji spoke again.

"It's getting late."

"Yeah. It's almost time for dinner."

"Yeah. We should go back."

"Yeah."

A loud boom jarred them out of their frozen stupor. Kouichi, who was, unfortunately enough, easily startled, grabbed his brother's arm and looked around fearfully. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure." Kouji gripped his brother's hand. "It sounded like…"

Another crash echoed through the air, illuminating the buildings of the man-made island with an unnatural blue light. Kouji's arms flew around his brother's shoulders, and Kouichi's around the other's waist, even as the city around them plunged into darkness.

****

( - )

"What in the name of…?" Uncle Hiro leapt to his feet as the lights blinked out all at once. "Dam-uh, darn fuse box…Takuya, stay here."

Takuya wasn't listening, even as his uncle disappeared through the basement door with a flashlight. He was a little too busy staring in shock at the glowing, sparking, smoking monitor in front of him, and back away as something large and round began to push towards him from the swirling blue…

****

( - )

The swivel chair fell to the ground, sending a sorely freaked-out Junpei rolling haphazardly into the wall. Another crash of thunder echoed throughout Odaiba, prompting the large boy to cover his head with his hands as the computer shrieked.

"I'm gonna die!" He gulped, whimpering with every flash of thunder, not noticing the flurry of blue sparks tumbling down from the computer screen…

****

( - )

Izumi screamed, but not because of the thunder, or because the house had suddenly gone dark. She scrambled to the other side of the kitchen and screamed because her eyes were now locked on the spiraling blue light filling the microwave and surrounding what had previously been her delicious afternoon snack…

****

( - )

"Oh, now what?" Yutaka exclaimed, digging through the kitchen drawer in desperate search of a flashlight. "Tomoki! Tomoki, where _are_ you?"

If he had through to look in his own room, he would have discovered the rear end of his baby brother hanging out from beneath the bed. Tomoki laughed and giggled, kicking his feet and enjoying the soft tickle of cool blue sparks against his face…

****

( - )

The twin's eyes were squeezed shut, so they didn't see the blue sparks falling from the lamp above them. They did, however, hear the accompaniment: a loud _POP_, followed by the shattering of glass. The sound elicited a scream from the boys as they rolled out of falling range. They huddled together on the ground, whimpering, until…

The lights came back.

The two lay crouched on the ground, gasping for breath and chocking back sobs as they willed themselves to calm down.

"Is is over?" Kouichi whimpered, peaking out from their curled positions.

"I think so…" Kouji muttered, straightening slightly to look around just a bit.

The lights flickered and glowed softly as though nothing had happened, lighting up a normal-looking grey sky and the gloomy afternoon streets.

Kouichi straightened and helped his brother up. "…What happened?"

"I dunno." Kouji looked up into the clouds, searching for discrepancies. "Maybe something got hit by lightenin'."

"Maybe _we_ got hit by lightenin'." Kouichi mumbled nervously.

Kouji glanced around, slightly tense and gripping Kouichi's hand. Everything _looked_ normal. Except for those strange, rounded shapes at the foot of the lamppost.

Kouji blinked, then did it again. "Wow!" He gasped, dragging his brother over to the shadow's little nook. "Lookit these!"

Kouichi seamed just as awed, his blue eyes wide. "Woah…" He gasped, knelling to run his tiny hands over their smooth, cool surfaces. "Whattya think they are, Kouji?"

"I dunno…" Kouji lifted one into his hands. "They look like giant…Eggs."

**__**

TBC…


	2. Secrets

**__**

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or anything to do with it. I am just, quite simply, utterly and completely obsessed.

****

More More Happy Christmas

Chapter 2: Secrets

_"Hey, guys. Remember this?"_

"The Odaiba Blackout? How can we forget, the history teachers use it every year as an example of current events."

"I'm serious. I was living there at the time, you know."

"You're joking! I was there, too!"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

****

Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District

December 18th, 1996 - 8:32 PM

Takuya's uncle called his sister-in-law as soon as the electricity was back on. Shortly afterwards, he loaded his nephew into his car and drove him back to the family's apartment. Takuya was strangely quiet, clutching his bag tightly as though guarding a precious treasure, but Uncle Hiro chalked it up to a sulk and ignored it.

After being scolded by his uncle, mother and father each in turn and forced to 'apologize' to Shinya for taking some of his toys along, Takuya stormed up to his room, dragging his bag with him and making sure to slam the door. He pouted at himself in the mirror before dropping onto his bed.

"Hmph! I'll show them!" He muttered, pulling the zipper of his bag open clumsily, "Shinya took my stuff first, but nobody'll ever take this from me, not even him!"

He reached deep into his bag, pulling out the huge egg that had come from the broken machine. It was the size of his head and bright orange, covered in large red polka dots. He smiled broadly, pulling the sheet off his bed.

"Gotta keep it warm so it'll hatch!" He chanted to himself, hiding the bundle deep within a mass of pillows. "I'll have the coolest pet ever with an egg like this, and Shinya won't have nothin'!"

Now content with his deviously rotten older-brother schemes, he jumped off his bed and went to find replacements for the action figures he'd left at his uncle's shop.

****

( - )

"What…?" Izumi blinked, staring into the microwave in dismay. "I can't eat this!"

On the plate that had contained her special Italiano treat now rested a huge purple egg decorated with blue swirls. The little girl reached in and pulled the egg out with a curious, "Ooh…"

Her little hands ran over the smooth surface curiously. "Hey, it's still warm… _Oh!_"

The egg suddenly jumped a little and shook all over, as though something inside it had kicked at the shell. Izumi scrambled to keep ahold of it, but her blue eyes lit up in excitement. "I get it! The microwave made you all warm real quick, so you're almost ready to hatch, right?

"Well, don't worry!" She jumped down from the chair, clutching the egg tight as she ran back to her room. "I'll take real good care of you 'til you hatch, Mr. Egg! Real good care!"

****

( - )

Junpei hurried home, ignoring the way his shoes filled with water as he splashed through the puddles. He was a bit more preoccupied with the large object he had stuffed down his shirt, hidden 'discreetly' even as he bustled up the stairs and into his apartment.

"Hi mom, I'm home!" He shoulder, toeing off his shoes and rushing through the hall towards his room.

"Junpei…" His mother called. "Come here a moment, please."

"Just a sec, mom!"

"_Now_, young man."

Junpei winced and backtracked slightly, leaning out from behind the kitchen door to try and hide the new bludge under his shirt. "Y-Yeah, mom?"

Mrs. Shibuyama folded her arms, holding a spatula loosely in one hand and looking rather cross. "And where, exactly, have you been?"

"Just the library, mom." He grinned hesitantly. "You know, just reading up on some stuff."

"You better not be sneaking off to the candy counter of the convenience store again!" She warned, waving her spatula threateningly. "Just look at you, you've already put on far too much weight. At this rate, you'll be as big as a house!"

"Right…" Junpei shifted, covering the shape all the better before bustling off to his room. "I'll keep that in mind, Mom. See you later!"

He shut the door and sighed, lowering the blue egg, covered in jagged yellow lines, to the floor. He grinned broadly when he got a good look at it, insides squirming with excitement. "Better keep this safe." He muttered, pushing it gently to hide it under his bed. "Man, Easter is gonna rock this year!"

****

( - )

"Really, mom, you don't have to worry." Yutaka sighed, cradling the phone against his shoulder. "We didn't even blow a light bulb."

He stepped around his baby brother as Tomoki chased after the orange and white striped egg rolling across the floor. "No, Tomoki was fine. Seriously, he didn't even whimper."

Tomoki giggled, rolling the egg into his nursery and chasing after it as it rolled under his old crib. "Yeah, I know it was weird, but everything's fine, really. Nothing strange around here."

****

( - )

The twins huddle together in their closet door, warm and clean from a fresh bath and wrapped snugly in matching blue and black pajamas. They crouched low, whispering to each other secretly as they stared down into the pair of old shoeboxes beneath them.

"You really think they'll be okay in here, Kouji?" Kouichi asked breathlessly, clutching the stuffed black cat that was his favorite toy.

"Yeah, sure they will!" Kouji piped, tucking another dish towel into one of the shoeboxes, protecting its contents from harm and warming it all the same. "And just wait, if we keep them warm, they'll hatch real soon, just like on TV."

Kouichi nodded, bending down to stroke his own egg sweetly. The two eggs looked almost exactly the same, just like the twins themselves, except that Kouichi's was black with a single purple stripe through the middle, while Kouji's was white with a blue stripe. It had taken some time to sneak their prizes in without their parents knowing, but neither boy doubted for a moment that it had been worth it.

"Whattya think'll hatch, Kouji?" The elder twin asked, but before his brother could answer there was a knock on their bedroom door.

Both boys jumped and reached simultaneously to close the closet just moments before their mother, Tomoko Minamoto, walked in. She was smiling, cradling a white stuffed dog that not an hour before had been rapidly loosing his stuffing through a popped seam.

"Time for bed, boys." She said brightly, kneeling down between the two futons as the twins scrambled under the covers. "Here you go, Kouji. I fixed your Inu-chan right up."

"Thanks, Mama!" The boy held his favorite toy affectionately. "He's all better!"

"That's right." Tomoko smiled, leaning over to kiss your slightly-younger son on the forehead lovingly. "Just be careful, or you'll tear him again. And I'll set your nightlight up for you."

"Thanks, Mama." Kouichi mumbled, cuddling his kitty and kissing his mother on the cheek as she tucked him in. He was really the one who needed the light, Tomoko knew. Kouji hadn't been scared for a while now.

She smiled, reaching over to turn on the small, star-shaped nightlight just before she stood. "Sweet dreams, my little darlings." She cooed, turning out the lamp. "Your father will be in to say goodnight in a little bit."

"G'night, Mommy!" The twins chorused as she closed the door.

Kouichi giggled a bit, rolling over to smile at Kouji in the low glow of the nightlight. "You know what I bet?" He whispered softly. "I bet they're gonna be lizards! Really big lizards!"

Kouji grinned and pulled the game onward. "Nuh-uh! They're gonna be birds!"

"Or snakes!"

"Or dinosaurs!"

The two dissolved into giggles, burying their heads into their respective pillows to muffle it just as the door opened again. Kousei Minamoto, their father, stuck his head into the room with a serious smile.

"Good night, boys."

"G'night, Daddy." The two chorused, turning a bit to smile up at their father before settling down.

Kousei smiled at them, about to close the door, when he caught sight of the soft light shining in the corner. A light frown crossed his lips as he pushed the door open to fully enter the room. "You boys are a little old to still need a night light, aren't you?"

He clicked off the light and pulled the tiny lamp from its plug. In the sudden darkness, he couldn't quite see Kouichi's eyes suddenly widen. "Daddy, no!"

"Now there's no reason to shriek like that, Kouichi." Kousei admonished, patting his son's head gently. "You're getting to be a big boy, and big boys need to be strong and brave. Look at Kouji. He's not scared."

"But…but…" Kouichi whimpered, sitting up a bit and clinging to his kitty. "But I don't like the dark!"

"Well, a few nights like this and you'll be over that, now won't you?" Kousei said far too brightly as he moved out to the hallway. "Good night, boys."

The door closed, cutting off the last source of light. Kouji sat up and reached over to hold his whimpering brother's hand. "You okay?"

"I don't like the dark." Kouichi mumbled miserably, squeezing the other small hand. "I don't wanna be in the dark, Kouji."

"It'll be okay, Nii-san." Kouji soothed, lying back down and keeping his hand on Kouichi's, their free hands still gripping their toys. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise…"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

_"Scared of the dark?"_

"Yeah, I was terrified for years. I thought there were monsters in the closet. It drove Mom nuts."

"That's not so weird."

"Yeah, lots of kids think monsters are hiding in their closets."

"Wonder what gives them that idea…"

****

( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District

December 19th, 1996 - 1:01 AM

A scream of terror echoed through the darkness of the Minamoto house. Kousei was only barely roused by the noise, but Tomoko was up at a shot. After all, she was being summoned.

_"MOOOOOOOOOOM-MEEEEEEEE!"_

She burst into her son's room, snapping on the light as she did. The boys were both awake, Kouichi a mess of tears and sobs in his brother's arms.

"Kouichi, sweetheart, what is it?" Tomoko gasped, scooping the crying six-year-old into her warm, loving embrace. "Are you sick? Did you hurt yourself?"

"It's t-too da-dark!" Kouichi sobbed, burying his eyes in her clothes. "T-too dark!"

Tomoko rocked her son back at forth, stroking his hair kindly as she looked to Kouji for some sort of explanation. The slightly younger twin looked a bit shaken up, as though he'd been startled, but it hadn't been enough to reduce him to his brother's current state. "Something big fell in the closet." He mumbled, pretty rationally for a six-year-old. "Nii-san got scared, 'cause it's so dark…"

"Dark?" Tomoko's eyes searched the wall, finding nothing but and empty socket. "What happened to your nightlight?"

"D-Daddy took it 'way." Kouichi whimpered, rubbing his eyes.

"Daddy said we're too old for it." Kouji added softly.

"Daddy said _what?_" Tomoko bristled all over at the news, her eyes darkening somewhat dangerously.

Almost on cue, Kousei appeared in the door, his face stuck in mid-yawn. "What's all the ruckus?"

Tomoko whirled on her husband. "Kousei, how could you?"

"Huh? What?" The man suddenly snapped awake. "What could I have done?"

"You took away their nightlight!" Tomoko exclaimed as she stood, still clutching Kouichi in her arms. Kouji scrambled up to hold onto his mother's legs, peaking out at his father hesitantly. "Look at him, Kousei! He's terrified! You _know_ he's afraid of the dark!"

Kousei's face turned red very slowly. "That's what this is about? That stupid nightlight?"

"They're six years old, Kousei!" Tomoko snapped, setting Kouichi down. The twins instantly huddled together as their mother advanced steadily. "Plenty of six-year-olds are afraid of the dark!"

"You're too soft on them, Tomoko." Kousei sneered. "Everyone needs to learn to grow up sometime."

"You can't force them!"

"Who says I'm forcing them? If Kouji can handle it, then Kouichi should be able to!"

"Don't lump them together just because they're twins! They're different people!" Tomoko took a very deep breath after her final outburst, claming herself. "I will not argue with you in front of the boys, Kousei." She muttered evenly before striding out of the room.

Kousei glared after her and left without another look to the twins. For a moment the two sat there alone, holding onto each other with the stuffed dog and cat squished between them. Neither said anything out-loud, but something about the situation was communicated between them all the same.

A short while later, their mother returned, looking somewhat ruffled and clutching the small nightlight in her hand. "Here you go, boys." She sighed, plugging it back into its place and turning it on. "I'm so sorry, Ichi-kou. Are you okay now?"

Kouichi sniffled a bit. "I'm fine, Mama."

"That's good." Tomoko cooed, tucking him in again and gently kissing his forehead. She moved to the second twin and did the same. "Thank you, Ni-kou, for being so brave."

Kouji took this kiss without another word, blinking up at her with a somewhat unreadable expression between happiness and concern. Tomoko ruffled his hair lovingly before she stood. "Now, let's all go back to sleep, okay? Everything's fine now. Mommy loves you both so much."

"'Love you too, Mommy." The twins echoed together.

Tomoko smiled from the door. "Goodnight, my little darlings." She whispered, and turned out the lights.

As soon as she left, both boys sat up, staring at each other in the light of the nightlight, wide-eyed. After a moment, Kouichi whispered. "There _was_ a noise…right, Kouji?"

As if to answer him, something in the closet rumbled and shook, followed by a pair of high-pitched giggles. The twins stared at the closed door a moment, then back at each other. Their lips simultaneously moved to form the same hesitant whisper. "The _eggs_…"

There was another pair of giggles. The twins climbed out of the futons and moved to the closet door slowly, side-by-side. Kouji reached forward to grasp the doorknob and hold tight.

"One…"

"Two…" Whispered Kouichi, gripping his brother's hand.

"Three!" They shouted together and opened the door.

Sitting in the two shoeboxes, half-buried soft towels and the clothes they'd knocked down, were a pair of amazingly similar…things. They looked like teddy bear heads that had been torn off their bodies, minus a large amount of cuddly stuffing. They were soft, fluffy and squishy, with cute little ears and absolutely adorable, beady little eyes. The one in Kouji's box was white with bright blue eyes, while Kouichi's was black with yellow eyes.

With identical shrieks of joy, they leapt up and at the two boys. The black one crawled immediately into the folds of Kouichi's jimmies and sat there purring as Kouji caught the white one in both hands. They stared up at the little boys and cooed lovingly, giggling.

"What are they?" Kouichi gasped as the little black one settled into the crook of his shoulder.

"Well, one thing's for sure." Kouji blinked at his white one. "They're sure not dinosaurs."

****

( - )

Tomoki had only recently moved from his crib into a brand-new 'big boy' bed. As such, he wasn't quite used to things being able to fall out of it. Like his egg.

The object in question seamed to have broken on impact, until you noticed the small, watery-blue creature sitting the midst of the remaining shell. It look like a large drop of living water, with beady black eyes and a tiny little mouth attached to show you which side was the front.

Tomoki sat atop his bed, looking down at the little thing as though it would vanished. The creature looked up at the boy as well, blinking occasionally and cooing oh-so-softly.

"…Jellyfish!" Tomoki suddenly exclaimed, jabbing a pudgy finger at it.

The creature smiled broadly. "Poyo!" It shrieked happily and blew bubbles into the boy's face.

Tomoki giggled. "Bubbles! Yea!"

He swiped at the clear, dancing forms, popping a few, and laughed happily again. The little creature, obviously pleased to have entertained him, fired off another round of floating spheres. They burst along Tomoki's hands and face, making the little boy giggle even more.

Quite soon, it developed into a kind of game in which they only barely knew the rules. It wouldn't have mattered either way, for if anyone had looked into the room that night, all they would have seen was a laughing little boy, playing with bubbles.

****

( - )

Izumi's eyes lit up again when she saw the little shape curled in her baby doll's crib. Of course, the huge explosion followed by a large cloud of white smoke had scared the bejeezus out of her, and she had a hard time explaining to her father that, no, her EZ-Bake oven had not exploded again, and everything was just fine…

But what little girl could resist and adorable little green blob, especially as it took shelter under a large, wide leaf?

The leaf-creature looked up at her with small, bright eyes, suckling a purple pacifier. "Ga goo?"

Izumi's heart melted instantly into a puddle of goo. "So _cute_!" She shrieked, snatching it up and cuddling it close. She rubbed her cheek against its smooth, soft leaf. "Mr. Egg-Weggy, you hatched! And you're soooo cute!"

The leaf-thing cooed again, rubbing against her like a cat. Izumi giggled. "Leaf-leaf, you tickle!" She laughed, falling back to sit on the carpet. She set the little thing in her lab, giggling all the more as it squirmed cutely and batted its eyes at her.

"What'sa matter?" Izumi asked as it squirmed out of her lap and started bouncing along the floor. "Are you hungry? Issat it?"

The green thing turned back and cooed in confirmation. Izumi smiled and jumped up. "Well, babies do need good food!" She sparked happily, picking up the leaf and skipping into the kitchen. "You just wait, Baby-leaf. I'll get you something good!"

****

( - )

Junpei had never been one to believe in monsters under the bed. It was just kid's stuff, his dad always said. Utter nonsense.

Of course, being thrown four feet straight in the air from the force of a mini-explosion and the resulting shock reaction, all the more amplified by well-tuned bedsprings, was probably nonsense, too. But that's what had happened.

As such, Junpei felt no shame in hanging off his bed, his head turned upside-down to look under the dark space at the bizarre little…monster…that had appeared from his egg.

It looked like a ball of fur, or one of the fuzzy cat toys his grandmother got for her mean old tom-cat, who usually tore them apart. The lowest layer was a blue blob, but it was all but hidden by the long white hair surrounding it. The only thing that could be seen clearly were a pair of beady black eyes, poking out from the mess of white like a pair of buttons.

Junpei blinked at the little guy. The little guy blinked growled at him playfully, like a dog asking another to play-fight.

Junpei never had any pets, especially not dogs.

"Well…this is weird…"

The little creature growled again and lunged with playful squawks that sounded distinctly like the barking of a small terrier. Junpei shouted in surprise, yanking his head up as the creature came bounding out, yip-yapping all the way.

It turned on the spot when it realized he wasn't there anymore, looking around in confusion as though he'd disappeared altogether. Junpei huddled up on his bed, holding his breath, still startled and wondering deftly if this creature was going to attack him…

Then he coughed, which drew the hairball's attention to his location. With a triumphant bark it leapt onto the bed, knocked the boy flat on his back and preceded to lick his face.

Surprised shrieks of ticklish laughter echoed through the still night air, accompanied by the barks of a small dog.

****

( - )

Takuya coughed. This was only to be expected as the egg, which had been lying next to him on the bed at the time, had suddenly exploded in a large puff of white smoke. Though Takuya was the lucky type of child who did not have asthma or any other breathing problems, it was only natural for him to choke on the free-floating foreign dust. He would have been expecting this, had he known the event would happen.

However, he did not in the least expect something small, red and squishy to come catapulting out of the smoke and leap to the top of his head.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, reaching up to grab it. "Leggo! Get offa me!"

The creature gave a high-pitched giggle. Takuya finally got a handhold on the shapeless lump, pulling it off to get a good look. It was red and squishy, three little horn-like protrusions rising from it, and had wide, expressive eyes. Its little mouth was currently spread into a wide smile.

"Kyrii!" It shrieked.

Takuya just stared at it a while, then grinned slowly. "Wow…H-Hey, little guy." He switched the creature in one hand, stroking its forehead with the other gently. "You're pretty cool, for a little red…head-thing…"

The creature seamed pleased, so one could only assume it was an act of affection when he reached over and bit Takuya's pointer finger.

It may have been an act of affection, but it still hurt.

"YEE-OW!" Takuya screamed, yanking his hand back. The little creature went flying across the room and into the wall, bouncing off harmlessly and sagging to the ground with all the form of a hacky sack.

Hacky sacks, however, usual stay where they have been thrown. This little guy decided that he'd just found a fun new game and began bouncing off everything he could reach at high velocity.

"Hey, NO!" Takuya exclaimed, running after it desperately. "Stop! You're gonna break something! I'm gonna get in trouuuuuubllllllle!"

**__**

TBC…

When you're counting, the number two is read as 'Ni'. The kanji letter can also be read as 'Ji', so Tomoko calling Kouji 'Ni-kou' is basically the same as her switching Kouichi's to 'Ichi-kou'. I needed cute mama-type nick names for them. 'Ichi' means one, BTW.

As a small note, I think it's a general rule that all baby Digimon are soft and squishy, so they can be thrown around and not be harmed. And in case you couldn't figure it out, the baby Digimon are as such:

Kouji - SnowBotamon

Kouichi - Botamon

Takuya - Punimon

Tomoki - Poyomon

Izumi - Leafmon

Junpei - Can't remember the name, but he appeared in Season 1. The one T.K. mentioned "Looked more like a grandpa" 'cause of it's whiskers.

'Bejeezus' is a southern word. You're talkin' to a Texas girl. Remember that.


	3. Digimon

You know, if I was really as smart as all my teachers think I am, I would have planned this out beforehand and started this whole thing on December 20th, not the 18th, so I wouldn't have to jump over days like this…Oh well…

I need help...I need funny things for the Digimon to do! See, I hate to do this, but I really think that, for the story to flow right, there needs to be one more chapter of humorous filler-types before we get to the real climax. However, I've run out of ideas for such cutsie and/or funny-type things, so in other words...I need HELP. Please!

Oh, and one thing: The squirrel thing is the funniest bit in the world to me, and it's also TRUE!

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon or anything to do with it. I am just, quite simply, utterly and completely obsessed._

**More More Happy Christmas**

**Chapter 3: Digimon**

"_You know, now that I think about it, a lot of weird stuff happened after that blackout…"_

_"Yeah, the grid was fried. Random power surges for a week. Everything that was plugged in went nuts."_

_"Didn't they blame it all of a squirrel caught in the power mane?"_

_"Ain't that rich? One squirrel gets fried and an entire district goes into electronic meltdown!"_

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

**Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District**

**December 21st, 1996**

"All right, boys." Tomoko sighed, kissing each of the twins on the forehead lovingly. "Your Daddy's back working, so you probably shoulder bother him too much. I want you to be good, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy!" The twins chorused sweetly.

Tomoko couldn't help but noticing that both boys had strange grins on their adorable little faces, but wrote it off as giddiness left over from the American Christmas special that had been on TV this morning. "All right then. Have a good day, sweethearts. I'll be home in time for dinner."

"Bye-bye!" The twins echoed and, with a last wave, their mother was gone.

Kouichi immediately ran up to the door and locked it, as they had been instructed. He turned and smiled at Kouji, who grinned back broadly. Kouji grabbed his brother's hand excitedly and together they dashed back to their play room.

It was a nice room, and bright, with smooth white walls that were almost hidden by a huge large, colorful posters. In one corner was a huge pile of stuffed animals, mostly gifts from well-meaning grandparents, all smiling back at them with bright, stitched-on faces and shining button eyes. The only shadow to be found in the whole room was the toy closet, where the bulb had gone out long ago.

Kouji jumped forward as Kouichi pushed the door closed behind them. "Okay, you guys, you can come out now!"

"All clear!" Kouichi added in a giggle, running up beside his brother as he clutched his kitty-doll, Neko-chan.

From amid the pile of stuffed animals, two tiny shapes started to move and squirm. With almost-identical, excited shrieks, the itty-bitty black and white bear heads leapt out of the pile and bounded over to the boys happily.

The black one, whom they had affectionately dubbed 'Bobo' for the sound he made, leapt up and nuzzled into the crook of Kouichi's neck lovingly. "Bo bo bo!" He giggled.

Snow, Kouji's equally adorable white one, jumped up and landed in Kouji's outstretched hands, blinking up at him with a pleasant. "Snow snow bo!"

Kouji's smile broadened as he fell into a near-by beanbag, cuddling Snow close. "He!" He giggled as the little thing licked his cheek like an overly-excited puppy. "That tickles!"

"The probably missed us, Kouji." Kouichi smiled as Bobo cuddled close to his cheek, dropping forward to lie on a beanbag of his own. "We did have to leave 'em here all morning."

Bobo cooed in agreement, as though confirming that, after a full day of playtime the day before, being left alone for four hours in the bright playroom was just mean.

"Well, we're here now, right?" Kouji rolled over. Snow dropped off the bag and landed softly on the plush carpet. "We can do something now!"

Bobo slid off Kouichi's shoulder and onto Snow with a light _thump_. He rolled off with a delighted giggle and turned to face the other creature, almost 'nose' to 'nose'. The two scrunched back a moment and growled playfully, then lunged, rolling around together with various growls and snaps, laced thoroughly with a wave of giggles.

Looks like they're already having fun without us, Kouji." Kouichi laughed. He nestled Neko-chan under his chin as he watched lovingly.

Bobo suddenly stopped, blinking up at Kouichi with big, golden eyes. A grin suddenly slid over his face and he leapt up, seizing Neko-chan by the crook of his stitched neck and taking off with it.

"Hey!" Kouichi exclaimed, jumping up. "Bobo, no! Neko-chan!"

He started after his little 'pet', scrambling around the room at top speed. Kouji got up and was about to follow after when a low growl interrupted him. He looked down to find snow sitting at his feet, looking up at him with bright blue eyes. A certain white stuffed dog was clutched in his mouth by the tail, and the growl held a playful, laughing air.

Kouji grinned. "So, you wanna play, too?"

Snow growled again and took off in happy, wide bounds. Kouji took off after him as a series of giggles echoed down the hall.

**( - )**

"Wow!" Izumi gasped, her blue eyes wide. "Leaf-Leaf, you eat lots!"

The green creature blinked at her and bumped cutely. He sat on the kitchen table, almost completely hidden by a huge mess of dishes, empty cardboard boxes and discarded wrappers. There were a few crumbles left on the table, along with the minute specks on the corners of his mouth, but that was all.

Izumi was thoroughly impressed. "I don't think I could ever eat dis much! You're really good! Not even sick?"

Leaf-Leaf cooed and slide across the table to cuddle against her. Izumi smiled as her little playmate butted against her hand happily, blowing tiny, pink-tinted bubbles from behind the pacifier.

Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. "Leaf-Leaf, you are soooo cute!" She squealed, scooping the little thing into a super-cuddly hug. "I wanna be as cute as you!"

Leaf-leaf giggled and cooed, producing more bubbles that danced around the kitchen and sparkled like floating crystals in the bright afternoon sun. Izumi laughed happily, jumping down from the chair and pulling Leaf-Leaf down with her.

"Come on, Leaf-Leaf." She piped brightly, skipping down the hall to her butterfly-decorated room. "Let's go have fun, okie-dokie?"

The creature cooed again and the little girl took it as favorable ascent.

**( - )**

Yutaka smirked, his face glistening with sweat despite the chilling breeze and near-freezing wind chill factor that filled the windy, icy park. Though it was cloudy and overcast, there was enough sun for him to clearly see the goalie's face as he curled, arms out-stretched, waiting like a snake about to leap out at his prey.

With a muffled groan of effort, Yutaka raced forward and kicked the little black and white ball as hard as he could. It blew, straight and true, right into the upper right corner of the net. The goalie leapt for it, fingers outstretched, but missed it by several very important inches.

A teammate ran up to him, out of breath. "Nice kick, Himi!"

"Thanks." Yutaka smirked confidently, flashing a two-fingered 'V for Victory' sign.

One of the other boys ran up with a high-five, as well as other concerns. "Where's your brother? Usually the Chibi-Hi is out here trying to play with you, Yutaka."

"He's over in the sandbox." Yutaka thumbed towards the play-set that rested beneath the shade of several now-spiny trees. "Probably talking to himself again. Mom figures he's got himself an imaginary friend."

Naturally enough, neither Yutaka nor the boys' mother had any idea that Tomoki's 'imaginary' friend was anything but. The little jellyfish-like creature had quickly become Tomoki's very favorite playmate and companion. Through some sort of lower-level communication, they had been able to determine that 'Jellyfish's real name was 'Poyomon'.

It was shorted to 'Poyo' for the sake of Tomoki's limited vocabulary. Actually, he was quite capable of using the fully term just fine, but he was a rather finicky and slightly push little boy.

"Poyo, poyo!" Tomoki chanted, patting down sand around his friend's soft, watery form. "Poyo poyo poiiiiyooo!"

"Poyo!" Shouted Poyomon as he burst through the layers of sand, sending it flying everywhere. Tomoki giggled as he was covered in a light dusting from head to foot. He scooped the creature up into the front pocket of his overalls, the same way he'd ridden to the park.

"Poyo poyo _zoom_!" He giggled, running to the slide. Inside the pocket, Poyomon spouted out bubbles, which drifted behind the little boy like a trail. "Zoom zoom! Poyo!"

"_Poyo!"_

**( - )**

Junpei was enjoying himself, to say the least.

It wasn't often he got an audience for his tricks, and even less a truly interested one. True, perhaps he wasn't the world-class magician he claimed to be in his pre-show speeches, but he was good. For a seven year old, of course, but still good.

So it was nice, at least for him, that his cute little furry friend was now sitting in front of him in his room watching wide-eyed as her preformed with grand flourish worthy of a stage in Las Vegas.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, my latest and greatest feat!" He announced grandly, spreading his arms. "Believe it or not, I just picked this one up the other day! Amazing what some research can do, ain't it?"

The furball cooed lightly, looking up at him expectantly. Junpei rolled his sleeves back with an excited grin. "Nothing up my sleeves…and, presto!"

He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and fumbled a bit. His dramatically-smiling face fell suddenly as he searched his obviously-empty pocket. "Hey, no way!" He groaned, digging into the fabric. "I had this all set up! I know I did!"

The furball suddenly shrieked happily, leaping forward to snap at the thin string dangling from Junpei's _other_ seemingly obviously empty pocket. With a joyful yip of his own, the creature took off, dragging behind him the string of colorful handkerchiefs that had been so artfully hidden.

"Wha? Hey!" Junpei scrambled to his feet, chasing after him. "No fair! How come _you_ know my tricks better than _me_?"

**( - )**

Takuya greatly enjoyed being along in the house. As he lounged in front of the TV or played a game of indoor fetch with the dog, he felt quite content with the Japanese idea of raising children as independents from the very start.

Of course, today he was happy to be along in the house because a certain adorable red blob had been cooped up in his bedroom for a day and a half and had a lot of pent-up energy to work out, and was now doing so by bouncing around the house at top speed, laughing almost manically.

"Wait up! Wait up!" Takuya giggled, racing after his little pet. The red blob fired streams of bubbles as he jumped from couch to shelf to count to hat rack.

Takuya's eyes widened suddenly as the red blob jumped onto the kitchen table. His eyes widened because sitting on this table was a cake.

Not just any cake, either, but a big, soft, gooey, three-layer chocolate cake decorated with green icing and bright pink roses. It was the cake his mother had been working on all morning, making sure that every last detail was perfect for the Christmas Eve bake sale in just three days. The one she'd threatened to tan Takuya's hide like day-old leather if he so much as thought of tasting a frosted leaf.

"_WATCH OUT!"_ He screamed in warning.

The red blob stopped, turning back, but his little body kept going on the smoothly-waxed table, until…_SPLAT_.

Takuya winced. "Oh no…"

The cake now had a large, roundish hold deep in the right side, which soon disappeared as the upper layer collapsed over it with a sickening squish. The little creature giggled wildly, sounding more hyper than ever inside the mess.

Takuya gulped as he climbed up on one of the kitchen chairs, staring at the cake in horror. "Oh, man…" He whispered, reaching in hesitantly to fish out his little friend with both hands. "Mom is soooo gonna kill me…"

He was so busy worrying about the cake that he didn't even notice the electric lights above him blinking and flashing as the over and microwave beeped without warning or cause…

**( - )**

"What the heck?" Junpei asked the air. Something very strange was going on. In every room of the apartment, lights were flashing and sparking. His alarm clock went off suddenly, flashing through completely random numbers across the green light screen.

A low whimper echoed from the ground. Junpei turned to find his little creature curling up on himself and squeaking slightly in his high-pitched voice.

"What's wrong, little guy?"

**( - )**

"What's wrong, Leaf-leaf?" Izumi whimpered. He little companion was curled up in her wooden baby cradle, the large leaf spread tightly over his soft head.

Izumi stroked the steam leading from leaf to body lovingly, worriedly. "Are you sick? You shouldn't have eaten so much if you'd get sick!"

Leaf-leaf whimpered again, curling up even more and whimpering again as the lights sparked and flashed.

**( - )**

Tomoki blinked at the music store across the street from the park, which had suddenly began blaring ear-shattering static. He blinked at the light-sign next door to it, which was spouting out gibberish in what an adult would have recognized as German. And he blinked down at the little jellyfish curled in his front pocket, cooing softly.

"…Poyo?"

**( - )**

Kouji stopped in his chase, looking up at the bright lights as they flashed and blinked, making the whole of their playroom look like a picture from a malfunctioning movie projection.

"Nii-san…" He whispered softly, eyes widening as he saw Snow suddenly drop Inu-chan and curl up on himself. "Something's wrong…"

Kouichi had noticed it as well, but not in time to stop his momentum. He stumbled on the carpet, even as he stretched down to snatch Bobo in mid-run. The result sent him tumbling head-over-heels, holding both the Digimon and his stuffed toy as he rolled straight into the closet.

A cry of sudden fear echoed out as the lights returned to normal.

**( - )**

"Oh, man." Takuya groaned, turning the faucet on with his elbow. "Mom is so gonna kill me…"

The blob of icing and cake crumbs in his hands squeaked unintelligibly. Takuya sighed. His little friend seamed to be at least twice the size he'd been before, absolutely covered in a thick layer of icing.

"Well, if we get you cleaned up, maybe we can blame it on the dog." He sighed, turning off the water and dumping the blob into the collected pool with a splash.

Moments later there was another splash, accompanied by a loud shriek. "Brrr! That's cold!"

"GAH!" Takuya screamed, falling backwards and onto the floor at the uncovering of his little friend. "Wh-What the heck?"

The blob…which had indeed grown to twice its original size…leapt up on the edge of the tub and shook itself off like a cat. Though it was still not much more than a head or a lump, the adorable little red blob had been replaced by a large, brown shape with wide blue eyes. It had two small ears on either side, long and pointed like the drawings of elves in fantasy manga. Its body was just the right shade of brown, speckled with black, and the tufts at the back of its head and tips of its ears were just the right colors of yellow, orange and red that the combined appearance was that of a piece of charred wood, pulled freshly from a bonfire and still lightly ablaze.

The creature looked down at the six-year-old with a wide, slightly fanged grin, twitching his catlike little nose. "What'sa matter, Taku-kun?" He asked, jumping down to hop after the boy, who was scrambling backwards. "What's wrong?"

Takuya stared at him, slack-jawed. "You…You're HUGE!" He shrieked suddenly. "And you're _talking _to me!"

"Sure I am!" The creature grinned. "I learned from you!"

"From…me?"

"Yup!" The grin broadened. "My name's Takibimon now!"

"Takubi…what?" Takuya blinked.

"Takibimon!" Sparked the creature. "Tah-kee-bee-mon! I'm a Digimon!"

Takuya stared at him a moment longer. Finally, he spoke once more: "What's a Digimon?"

**( - )**

"What's a Digimon?" Kouji asked, and his brother, peaking out hesitantly from beside him, echoed silently with his eyes.

"We are!" Piped the two creatures together, flashing identical grins. At this point, that was the only thing about them that was alike.

'Snow' had become something vaguely like Inu-chan's head without the body, that of a white wolf-dog. His eyes were big and blue as well, his fur trimmed with an icy-blue frost. His dog-like nose was blue as well, and there were bluish stripes running up his ears.

On the other hand, 'Bobo' had now transformed into a large, black cat's head. His eyes had become large and gold, with thin, cat-like pupils peaking over long whiskers. Yellow tabby-strips ran up his entire form, all the way to the tips of his adorably-pointed ears. A wide, fanged, cat-like smile had wreathed his face since he bounded from the dark of the closet, right on the severely startled Kouichi's heels.

"We figured that." Kouji glanced between them, then sighed as he sat down. "What we're asking is…"

"What _are_ you?" Kouichi finished hesitantly, eyes locked on the cat-head.

The white wolf grinned broadly, bouncing with excitement. "I'm Karuimon!"

"I'm Kuroimon!" Piped the cat's head, bouncing in time with his friend.

"We're Digimon!" They exclaimed together. "It's short for Digital Monsters!"

"Digital…?" Kouichi asked, turning his head slightly in confusion.

"That's right! Digital Monsters!" Kuroimon laughed, leaping into Kouichi's arms. The boy caught him, but winced slightly as he did.

"We're from the Digital World!" Added Karuimon as he leapt into Kouji's hands.

"Digital _World_?" Kouji blinked. "Like a computer."

"Sortta! I think…" Karuimon blinked a bit in minor innocent confusion.

Kouichi set Kuroimon down gently on the ground without a word and went to fetch Neko-chan from its spot near the closet door. Kouji couldn't help but notice the unusual chill his brother was giving off, as though he was greatly relieved to get away from the little cat-head.

Kouji brushed it off as after-shock as best he could and turned back Karuimon. "I just got one question…"

**( - )**

"If you're from a computer-world, whattya doin' here?" Izumi asked. She sat on her bed, watching as the little creature that had been Leaf-Leaf…which now wanted to be called Makumon…floated back and forth across the room on gusts from the air conditioner.

"I dunno." Makumon piped, fluttering a bit to stay afloat. "I'm here for somethin', but I dunno what it is."

She landed on Izumi's bed, bouncing into the girl's lap. Izumi smiled and picked her friend up, giggling. Makumon had only a light lay of the green that had been Leaf-Leaf's primary color, and that was in her puny, parakeet-like beak. The rest of her was covered in soft layers of purple-and-blue feathers, a pair of bright, shining blue eyes poking from within. A small pair of wings protruded from the sides, keeping her aloft on drafts of air. Somehow, even the beak seamed to move when Makumon smiled, as she was now.

"Well, you can't be here just to eat." Izumi mentioned off-hand, tossing the Digimon in the air like a beach ball. "You've already done a lotta that."

Makumon giggled, floating back into Izumi's hands. The little girl smiled again. "Well, I guess we can worry 'bout that later…"

**( - )**

"GAAAAAH!"

Junpei scrambled back, staring wide-eyed at the creature now holding his string of handkerchiefs in its tiny mandibles. It blinked back at him with big, brown eyes, poking out from under a shiny, smooth, blue helmet, decorated with strange yellow designs. The circular, soccer-ball-sized body under the helmet was yellow, and the end result looked vaguely like a cartoonish pill bug without legs.

"What's wrong?" It squeaked, moving towards him. It didn't walk or crawl, just hopped, bouncing like a ball.

Junpei scrambled back, stuttering. "Y-You changed! You got big!" He exclaimed. "And you talk! Since when do you talk?"

"Since now!" Piped the creature, bouncing towards him again. "It's just like one of your magic tricks, Junpei! Presto! Now I'm…woah!"

"A sudden gust from the air conditioner sent him into a flip, landing on the flatter part of his rounded back. The result, like a turtle on its shell, was that he became stuck, struggling to right himself as best he could.

"Oh nooo!" He shrieked, wiggling. "I'm stuck, I'm stuck!"

Junpei hesitated, then scrambled to right him hurriedly. The little thing sighed. "Thanks!"

"No problem." Junpei breathed a sigh of relief, sitting next to him. "So…you were saying?"

"Oh yeah!" The little creature grinned broadly. "Like I said, I'm Raiumon!"

"Raiumon." Junpei thought a moment. "Huh…that's kind of a weird name…"

"It is not!" Raiumon started bouncing again, offended. "It's not weird! Is not is not is not!"

"Okay, okay!" Junpei shushed. "Just calm down, before…"

"Junpei!"

The boy and the creature both froze, listening in fear to the sudden knocking that accompanied the voice at the door. "Junpei!" Repeated his mother. "What are you doing in there?"

"Nothing, mom!" Junpei gasped hurriedly, clamping a hand over Raiumon's mouth.

"Well, I better not have heard what I thought I heard!" His mother replied. "If you've broken your bed jumping on it again, you're through!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Junpei called back, and breathed a sigh of relief as her footsteps moved away. He looked down at Raiumon. "We gotta be more careful, buddy…"

**( - )**

"Tomoki!" Yutaka shouted, shaking out his coat even though he was too hot and tired to put it on just yet. "It's time to go home!"

The three-year-old hurried up to his brother, clutching a big white ball with a green stripe running through the center. He stopped and smiled up at his brother. "Yutaka-nii-san!"

"Squirt." Yutaka grinned down at his baby brother, patting his head. "Did you come here with that thing?"

"Yeh-yeh!" Tomoki chanted. "Meh ball!"

"Are you sure?" Yutaka knelt down, reaching out to try and take the ball from him. "I don't think you had this with you before…"

"My ball!" Tomoki screamed, pulling the ball away. "Yutaka no-no! My ball! My!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh." Yutaka rolled his eyes and straightened. "Just come on already. Jeez, you're such a pain sometimes."

Tomoki smiled again, grabbing onto his brother's pants leg as they walked. Yutaka spoke to him occasionally, but didn't bother to look down at him.

This was a good thing. If he had looked down, he would have noticed the adorable face of a small, white teddy bear smiling up at him from the ball with bright green eyes. He would have seen that the green 'stripe' around it was actually a sort of belt, looped just under what would have been the creature's chin, had he a body to go with it. He would have, in a total sense, seen Chiemon as the Digimon lay still in Tomoki's arms.

The three-year-old looked down at his playmate and smiled happily. "Poyo poyo po!"

"Not anymore," whispered Chiemon. "Not anymore…"

_**TBC…**_

Neko means cat. Inu means dog. 'Chan' is an endearing ending to use for good friends, cute teenage girls, and small children.

Chibi-Hi is another nickname, meaning 'Small Hi' or 'Small Himi'. It also literally means 'Small Flame' but that's just a meaningless coincidence.

Japanese children are raised to be very independent from a very young age. Elementary schools encourage parents to allow children starting at age 6 to walk or ride the train to school unaccompanied, in groups of their peers, without adults. Responsible adults along the way watch out and make sure the kids get there safe, but they're basically on their own. That's why it's pretty believable for a six-year-old to be left at home by himself.


	4. Troublemaking

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon or anything to do with it. I am just, quite simply, utterly and completely obsessed._

**More More Happy Christmas**

**Chapter 4: Troublemaking**

_"Do you guys ever get déjà vu?"_

_"De ja what?"_

_"You know, doing something or being somewhere you know you've never been before, but you feel like you have?"_

_"You know…"_

_"Now that you mention it…"_

_"Sometimes…"_

_"Yeah."_

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

**Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District**

**December 23rd, 1996 - 7:32 AM**

The sunlight filtered silently, peacefully through the window, illuminating the room with soft, peaceful contrast. Illuminated, too, were the two small forms that lay curled in their respective futons, their identical faces filled with the peace of one who is not completely out of dreamland just yet. They lay on opposite sides so that they faced each other, each clutching their favorite toy as they slept.

Not too far away, two soccer-ball-sized blobs began to stir. The white dog-head shifted first, opening his bright blue eyes. He slid over and nudged the black cat-like creature with his nose, prompting the opening of his golden-yellow eyes. They looked at each other, then at the little boys, and grinned.

With a resounding whoop, Karuimon leapt onto the long-haired boy's futon, bouncing happily on the human's chest. "Hey, Kouji!" He shouted brightly, giggling. "It's morning! It's morning! Get up get up get up!"

Kuroimon jumped into the other sleeping palled, nudging Kouichi's cheek with the top of his fuzzy head. "Come'on, Kouichi! Up up up!"

Both boys groaned and opened their eyes blurrily, blinking at their friends in confusion. Kouichi snuggled back deep into his pillow, pulling his blanket back over his head. Kouji groaned, sitting up only to catch the white doggy-head in midair. "Karuimon." He groaned, yawning sleepily. "It's still early…"

"But the sun's up!" Karuimon whined.

"Yeah!" Added Kuroimon, nuzzling down to tickle Kouichi with a tiny, chilly, wet nose. "And you said we'd play until you parents wake up!"

"You did, you did!"

"Nmmph…all right, all right!" Kouji groaned and stretched with another wide yawn. He glance over at Kouichi, who was much more slowly rubbing his eyes. "We better humor 'em, Nii-san."

"Mm…" Kouichi muttered, rubbing one eye tiredly. He looked down at Kuroimon and patted the little thing kindly, scratching him behind the ear before mumbling something about a glass of water and crawling out of bed.

Kuroimon curled up slightly and made a sad kind of purr. Kouji looked down at him as he set Karuimon on the ground. "Hey, what's wrong?"

The black Digimon looked over at the older of the two twins sadly. "I don't think Kouichi-kun likes me every much…"

Kouji sighed, glancing over at his brother, who now looked somewhat guilty as he searched their dresser drawer. The younger twin settled next to the Digimon, scratching Kuroimon behind the ear. "He doesn't _not _like you. It's just…you scared him."

Kuroimon blinked up at him. "I scared Kouichi-kun?"

"When you changed." Kouji nodded towards the closet as a reminder. "Nii-san's scared of the dark. You scared him."

Kouichi came back over, tossing Kouji some clothes and starting to wiggle out of his pajamas. Kuroimon hopped over to him as Karuimon started tugging at Kouji's waistband in an attempt to help.

The little cat-like creature looked up at Kouichi. "You're scared of the dark?"

"…Kinda." The boy muttered, shifting slightly in a nervous manner as he pulled his shirt on.

Kuroimon watched him a moment, then set his face in determination. "All right then!" He jumped into Kouichi's lap, turning to face the boy. "You don't got to be scared anymore, Kouichi-kun! I'll protect you!"

The little boy gaped at him. "Uh…what?"

"I won't let the darkness-things scare you no more!" Kuroimon exclaimed again. "I'll take good care of you, and I won't let nothin' hurt you, Kouichi-kun!"

"Sounds good to me!" Karuimon piped, bouncing as well. "The I'll take care of _you_, Kouji!"

"But I'm not scared of anything." Kouji blinked at the creatures and wondered blurrily where the energy came from.

Karuimon stopped a moment, then started up again. "Well, if you ever find anything to be scared of, just call me!"

"Okay, okay…" Kouji laughed, groaning a little. "You can do that, I guess. I'll… count on you."

"Yea!" Karuimon cheered, and started bouncing again.

Kuroimon hopped over to Kouichi and looked up at him with big, pleading yellow eyes. "I really real take care of you." He whispered. "I promise."

Kouichi reached down and picked him up, smiling just a little bit. "…Thanks."

**( - )**

Chiemon yawned sleepily, blinking lazily out the lower corner of the sliding glass door. His view consisted of the gloomy balcony, the dulled gray and silver buildings across the way, and the cover of clouds over the sky, looking very cold and heavy with snow, waiting only for the right trigger to release its load.

"So quiet…" He muttered with a sigh. "I wish something would happen."

Tomoki came waddling up behind him, a broad smile on his face and something clutched in his cute little hands. "Chiemon-mon!"

The Digimon turned to him. "What is it?"

Tomoki's grin broadened more as he held out his hands. Clutched between them was a large paper napkin, filled with a large handful of dry cereal. Chiemon blinked at the boy as he deposited the cereal in a pile in front of him.

"For me?" Asked the Digimon.

Tomoki smiled brightly and nodded. "Wow…" Chiemon looked down at it. "Thanks, I guess."

With that, he started in on the offering like a very hungry cat. Tomoki sat down and stared at him, watching intently though it only took a few minutes for him to finish.

Chiemon sat back up with a sigh. "That hit the spot." He grinned at Tomoki happily. "Thanks a lot. I need that!"

Tomoki smiled broadly, pulling himself somewhat unsteadily to his wobbly little three-year-old feet. As soon as he was steady, he reached don to pick Chiemon up and waddle out of the living room.

**( - )**

When encountering a dog, loud barking is very rarely a good thing. Especially when said barks are accompanied by a loud, high-pitched screams of fear.

"Takuyaaaaaaaa, make it sooooooo!" Takibimon screamed, bounding from place to place in a desperate run. Right on his proverbial tail was Chou-chou, the Kanbara family dog, yip-yip-yapping his happy little head off and charging after the Digimon in a joyous hunt. And right on _his_ tail, literally and figuratively, was Takuya, scrambling to get ahold of either his pet or his little hatchling friend, before something else got wrecked.

"Bad dog! Chou-chou, heel!" The six-year-old shouted, loosing his grip on the dog's tail again. "Chou-chou, leave Takibimon alone! Chou-chou!"

The Digimon in question jumped onto the couch, bouncing across it at high speeds as the dog followed after him. "B-Bad woof-woof! Leave me alone! Bad!"

Chou-chou barked happily, leaping after Takibimon and jumping over the coffee table to do so. Takuya scrambled around to the other side, a burst of speed pushing him ahead of the animal.

He slid forward, planting himself firmly between the dog and the Digimon. "Chou-chou, that's enough!…WHOA!"

Chou-chou, being a dog and not a bird, was naturally enough unable to cancel his momentum in mid-air. As such, it really wasn't his fault that he knocked Takuya to the floor. It just happened, and as a result, Takuya found himself flat on his back, lightly winded and with tiny little clawed puppy-feet on either shoulder.

Chou-chou was momentarily surprised to have found himself hunting his master, but with a happy bark he set in to licking the little boy's face excitedly.

"ACK! Chou-chou, no!" Takuya squealed, trying futilely to push the slobbering dog away. "Cut it out! That tickles! Chou-choooou!"

Takibimon's bouncing suddenly drew closer, stopped just above where Takuya was pinned. His pipe-like voice followed, sounding determined. "Bad dog!" He shouted. "Leave Takuya alone! _Bubble blow_!"

A stream of red-pink bubbles shot from his mouth, popping one after another right between Chou-chou's eyes. The didn't actually hurt the pooch, of course, but they were annoying enough one after another to stop his kicking and cause him to back off after a moment.

Takuya sat up, rubbing his face off on his sleeves. "Yuck…"

Takibimon bounced up to him. "Are you okay, Takuya?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Takuya made a face, rubbing one cheek with his shirt. "Just sticky."

"Wow…" Takibimon looked up at him with a strange kind of awe. "You're so brave, Takuya! You saved me!"

"Aw…" Takuya grinned cheekily. "It was just Chou-chou. He wouldn't hurt me!"

"Yeah, but he wanted to use _me_ as a chew toy!" Takibimon piped, bouncing again. "But you saved me, Taku-kun! You're so brave-brave!"

"Shucks, I'm not all _that_ great." Takuya laughed, standing and scooping up Takibimon into his arms. "Come on, buddy. Whattya say we get away from the breakables for a while."

**( - )**

Izumi took a deep breath, pulling her coat around herself a bit more warmly. She looked up at the cloudy gray sigh and sighed a puff of white-gray breath into the air. "Looks like it's gonna snow."

"Y-Yeah." Shivered Makumon from her place nestled deep inside the little girl's hoodie. He blue eyes blinked up at the blonde sleepily from the shadows of the coat. "Wh-What're we doing out here, Z-Zumi? It's c-c-cold!"

"Don't worry." Izumi bundled up the little Digimon a bit more. It won't take long. I want you to see something really cool!"

"C-Cooler than this?" Makumon shivered again, curling down into her warm pocket. In the Digital World, she remember, she'd lived in a tropical area with lots of pretty trees and heavily-scented flowers that filled the wind with deliciously sweet aromas, where the sky was always bright and blue and clear and oh-so-warm and sunny…

And then somewhat had come and asked her to follow him, and she did, but try as she might she couldn't remember who it had been or why she'd been so happy to leave with him.

"Here we are!" Izumi giggled brightly. "Lookie, Makumon!"

The bird-like Digimon wiggle out of the neck of the purple jacket, blinking at the sight in front of her in awe. It was a small house-like structure made entirely of slightly green-tinted glass. Through the pale tint you could see the leaves and blossoms of various large, lush tropical plants.

"What _is_ it, Zumi-chan?" Makumon asked with a slightly awed tone.

"It's a green house, silly." Izumi giggled as she pushed opened the glass door with the minute jingle of a bell announcing their arrival. "It's nice and warm in here, see?"

She unzipped her hoodie to let the Digimon float out on the warm breeze. Makumon let out a content sigh when her light, sensitive feathers hit the delightfully warm air. She stretched her wings and yawned sleepily as she bobbed along.

"Oooh…Izumi, this is wonderful!" Makumon sighed, a smile spreading over her beak as she took a deep breath. "And it smells so good!"

Izumi smiled broadly. "You really like it?"

"Like it, I love it!"

"Yea!" Izumi's blue eyes scrunched up cutely as she smile even wider. "I'm glad! Now we cam have fun here all day, right, Makumon?"

The Digimon floated into her arms. "You bet!"

"Then let's go!" Izumi giggled, and they ran off together through the aisles of sweet-scented trees.

**( - )**

Mrs. Shibuyama hummed to herself as she folded a stack of freshly-dry clothes. It was a load of blues, which was striking regular in her household, and it made her feel calm to know she was doing something nice and familiar.

She tut-tutted to herself, folding one of Junpei's adorable-looking blue jumpsuits to finish off the pile of her son's clothes. Her boy was at the store right now, on and errand, naturally. It was nice to have a capable child, even if he did go a little overboard sometimes.

Mrs. Shibuyama picked up the basket of clothes and headed back to her son's room. It was a mess, as usual. She'd be the first to admit that Junpei was not a mother's ultimate dream of the perfect son, but he was _her_ son and that was what mattered. At the very least, he was polite and kind and her life was certainly never boring.

As she closed the chest of drawers, something odd from the direction of the closet caught her eyes. When she turned her eyes to it, it did it again: the door shook suddenly and from within there was the rustle of clothes being knocked to the floor.

"Oh, Junpei." She sighed, setting the basket down and moving to the strange door. "Let's see what you've rigged up this time, my boy."

She opened the door, flicking on the light as she did, and froze on the spot.

Sitting on a shelf that was just about eye-level with her was something big and smooth and blue. From under it blinked a pair of wide blue eyes, staring at her hesitantly. For a moment, they just stared at each other, then the little mouth opened slightly with a smile.

"Hi!"

Mrs. Shibuyama screamed. Just screamed, for quite a while. Then her sense of reason cut out completely and she fell over in a dead faint.

"Uh-oh." Raiumon gulped, looking down at her. "This is bad…"

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

"_That's right. The first time I Spirit Evolved, it was…was…"_

_"Amazing?"_

_"Mind-blowing?"_

_"Totally awesome?"_

_"Well, yeah, but it was something else, too. Something different, but still…"_

_"I think I know what he's talking about. I felt it, too."_

_"Yeah, I get it now…"_

_"The first time it ever happened…"_

_"I remember, it felt…"_

_"Familiar."_

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

**Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District**

**December 23rd, 1996 - 2:47 PM**

"Mom, I'm home!" Junpei called, pushing the door closed behind him and toeing off his shoes. He held plastic bags stuffed full of groceries in each hand, which is why he didn't bother with his slippers as he entered the house.

"Mom?" He called again as he set the bags on the kitchen table. "I'm home, Mom! Mom!"

No answer. Junpei scratched his head. Her shoes were sitting in the entry hall, so she must have been home. Maybe she was sleeping, or…

"Junpei! _Junpei!_"

The boy turned to find a certain blue-and-yellow creature coming towards him, 'running' in the sense of long leaps and fast bouncing down the hall.

"What is it, Raiumon?" He asked, coming around to slid in front of the Digimon. "You're not supposed to be out! If mom sees you, she'll…"

"But she _did_ see me!" Raiumon shrieked, bouncing again. "She opened the closet and saw me and…oh _please_ come on!"

He leapt down the hall once again with Junpei scrambling at his heels. When he saw his mother splayed out on the floor, the boy's eyes widened. "Mom!" He exclaimed, racing over and finding her out cold. "Raiumon, what happened?"

"I don't know!" The Digimon shrieked, looking close to tears. "She saw me and stared at me and then she started screaming and she just fell over! I tired to wake her up, I really did, but I c-couldn't!"

He burst into tears and long wails. "Okay, it's okay!" Junpei exclaimed, scooping him up and scratching him behind the ear. "It's okay!"

"B-But I broke your mom!" The Digimon blubbered guiltily.

"No you didn't!" Junpei sighed. "Raiumon, it's okay, really. You just scared her, that's all. She just fainted. She'll be okay."

Raiumon sniffed. "A-Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure." Junpei grinned. "Old folks are like that sometimes, especially old girls like my mom. Just wait, she'll be…"

A low groan came from the adult in question, cutting Junpei off. "She's waking up! You were right!" Raiumon cheered.

"Shhh!" Junpei jumped up and tossed the Digimon under the bed. "You gotta hide! Keep quiet!"

His mother groaned, sitting up painfully with a hand to her head. "What a dream…"

"You okay, Mom?" Junpei asked, running over.

"Oh…yes, of course I am, dear." Mrs. Shibuyama smiled, shaking her head. "I must've hit something…but I had the strangest dream, that a huge blue talking bug was hiding in your closet."

Junpei laughed nervously, glancing at Raiumon out of the corner of his eye." Yeah, mom. Totally…crazy."

**( - )**

"Makumon!" Izumi called, wandering through the aisles of multi-colored ferns taller than she was. "Where did you go?"

She curled in on herself with a bit of a worried noise. She and her little friend and been separated during one of their chase-games, and now Izumi found herself very much alone in the huge greenhouse.

The little blonde girl looked around worriedly. "Makumon!" She called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Where _are_ you? Makumon!"

Echoing through the plants came a sudden voice. "Izumi! Zumi-chan, help me!"

"Makumon!" Izumi muscles suddenly burst into a run down the aisle. "Makumon, where are you?"

"I'm here!"

"Where?" Izumi took a sharp corner to get closer to the sound.

"Here!"

"Where's…oomph!"

Izumi toppled over backwards, running into the glass wall. Makumon's voice floated down from above her. "Right here."

The little girl looked up at her friend. Makumon had gotten herself profoundly tangled in a mop of long green vines, several orange blossoms clinging to them as well. The Digimon fluttered her wings uselessly, trying to get loose.

"Help me, Izumi!" She begged, slightly teary-eyed. "It's got me! I'm stuck!"

Izumi fought the urge to giggle, standing to stretch up and grab her friend. "Don't worry." She soothed, moving to untangle the vines around the Digimon's wings. "How'd you get into this tuff, anyway?"

"It attacked me!" Makumon cried, twitching ever so slightly as she started to come loose. "It changed the air and sucked me in! This Digimon's mean, Izumi!"

"It's not a Digimon." The little blonde girl laughed, pulling her friend free. "It's just a plant, and the air conditioner, Makumon. You're so floaty, you blew right in!"

She giggled happily at the adorably-confused look on her companion's face. "So it's not a Digimon?"

"Nope!" Izumi laughed, skipping back down the aisle happily. "You don't have to worry, Makumon. You're the only Digimon 'round here!"

**( - )**

Icy cold air wafted out of the glowing white box, filling the already 'nippy' kitchen with a heavy chill. The two Digimon looked up at it with identical expressions of pure awe.

"Wow…" Kuroimon whispered, a puff of visible breath hovering near his lips.

"What _is_ it?" Karuimon asked, the same awe in his tone.

"It's a refrigerator." Kouji looked down at him. He and Kouichi blinked at the two Digimon, still staring in shock, then glanced at one another and shrugged.

Kouichi leaned over into the ice box to get a better look at the food. "What do you think we should make, Kouji?"

"Something simple." Kouji leaned over next to his brother. "So we don't have to bother Daddy…"

Kouichi craned his head up. "Cereal and milk?"

"Had that for breakfast. Fried rice?"

"The rice cooker's broken. Pizza?"

"Mama doesn't want us to use the oven without her or Daddy."

The two thought a moment, their little faces scrunching up into adorably-thoughtful expressions. Karuimon and Kuroimon looked up at them, then scrunched their faces up thoughtfully as well.

After several long minutes, Karuimon couldn't take it anymore. "Let's make _this_!" He shouted, leaping up and grabbing a random item from the stacks of frozen food in the freezer.

Kouji and Kouichi stared at the little creature, then at the package in his mouth. Finally, Kouji saw it fit to speak. "Why is there a cup of instant ramen in the freezer?"

"I dunno." Kouichi bent down and took the plastic bowl from the Digimon. "But it does still look good. We've got more in the pantry, too."

"Hey, yeah." Kouji grinned, closing the refrigerator doors and racing across the kitchen. "Nii-san, you go get those out, and I'll get the hot water going, okay?"

Kouichi smiled. "Okay!" He giggled, and hurried off to the pantry.

"I'll come with you, Kouichi-kun!" Kuroimon piped eagerly, and bounced after the slightly-elder twin.

Karuimon bounded over to blink up at Kouji, who was standing on a chair to set the kettle on the stove. "What're you doing, Kouji?"

"Gettin' the water hot." Kouji reached over and turned the burner on.

"Why?" Karuimon jumped up onto the chair with him.

"To make the ramen, silly." Kouji nodded towards the pantry, where Kouichi and Kuroimon were rummaging through the dry goods. "You can't make ramen without _hot_ water!"

Karuimon blinked, jumping up on the counter top. "What kind of Digimon is Rah-mon? And why're you gonna make ones, Kouji-kun?"

"No! Not Rah-mon!" Kouji laughed as Kouichi and Kuroimon returned with three more beef-flavored cups. "_Ramen_. You'll see, you'll like it."

"If you say so." Karuimon frowned a bit, then started hopping up and down excitedly. "What's taking so long? I wanna eaaat!"

Kuroimon blinked up at his friend. "Uh, Karuimon…"

"Be careful!" Kouichi warned, watching the dog-like creature get closer to the stove edge. "You're a gonna…"

Too late. With one slightly mis-fired bounce, Karuimon's side came in contact with the red-hot burner beneath the slowly-boiling water. "OOOOOOOOOWIIIIIIIIE!" Screamed the Digimon, and leapt into the air. "IT'S HOOOOOOOOOT!"

He landed in Kouji's arms, still yelling in pain. "It's okay!" Kouji exclaimed, jumping down and racing to the sink. "It's just a little burn, Karuimon!"

He dumped the Digimon into the sink and yanked at the faucet to pour icy-cold water over the burned side. The Digimon whimpered a bit and rectified, but stayed otherwise still.

Kuroimon cooed worriedly. "He's gonna be okay, right?"

"Don't worry." Kouichi said kindly, picking the kitty-head up. "He'll be fine."

"Will I, Kouji?" Karuimon whimpered, blinking up at him.

"It's just an itty-bitty burn." Kouji smiled, reminded momentarily of all the times his mother had told him the exact same thing. "Everything's gonna be okay…"

**( - )**

Takuya groaned, hauling the absolutely huge bag of doggie kibbles out onto the back balcony. Chou-chou was waiting for him, tail wagging in excitement, and yip-yipped excitedly.

"Okay, okay." Takuya sighed, tearing open a corner of the bag and dumping its contents into the big silver bowl. "Here you go, Chou-chou. Dig in."

The puppy barked happily and did as he'd said without pause. The boy sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands, fronting at the dog with only a slight pout. "Man, you really cause a lot of trouble sometimes, you know that?" He sighed, shaking his head. "And it wasn't very nice to chase Takibimon around like that, you know."

The dog simply continued to gobble his food with nary a pause for breath. Takuya sighed, leaning back to look up at the sky, and at the city around him. "…I guess Mom and Shinya are going to be home soon. What a pain."

Inside the apartment, the phone rang. Takuya hopped up and scrambled in to answer it. "Hello?"

"_Beepity bleep bink-bink beeeeeeeep." _Said the phone.

"Huh?" Takuya looked at the phone in confusion. "What's going on?"

It was then that he noticed that the oven's timer was flashing random numbers as it screeched, as did the microwave, and the lights above him were flashing on and off. It all looked familiar…very familiar…

"Takibimon!" Takuya shouted, racing back to his room. Slowly, all the electronics return to normal just as he reached his room…and froze.

Sitting there on the floor was a tall, brown, furry creature covered in tribal-ish markings. His eyes were wide and green, a short pair of horn-like prongs sticking out of the long, spiky red hair. His feet were adorned with thick claws, while his hands wore red glove-like coverings, and he was dressed in a red vest and baggy red pants, held up by a black belt with a large, decorative belt buckle. A dog-like, yellow tail flicked in the back of him, seaming a bit anxious in all-fours sitting position on the floor.

"Oh, man." The boy whispered in shock. "How am I gonna hide _this_ from mom?"

_**TBC.,.**_

No, Tomoki and Chiemon did not appear in the second half. The reason is because everything else flowed together so nicely, and that part was just mindless, unentertaining


	5. Digivolve

The greenhouse from the last chapter is a public place that sells plants. There's one down the street from me. I figure somebody in the huge, densely populated city likes potted plants. They probably have good business.

This is probably the last chapter I'll be able to post on anything before I ship off to Germany on the 22nd. I'm staying there until early January, so please be patient with me if I can't update. Merry Christmas, all, and a Happy New Year.

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon or anything to do with it. I am just, quite simply, utterly and completely obsessed._

**More More Happy Christmas**

**Chapter 5: Digivolution**

"_Man, I haven't been to Odaiba in years."_

_"I know what you mean. Everything looks so different."_

_"Well, they've done a lot of renovations over the years. I heard some of the buildings were pretty unsound."_

_"Unsound? Whattya mean?"_

_"Well, back around the same time as the blackout, there was this whole building that just collapsed 'cause of some structural problem."_

_"I've heard of that. They were lucky, all things considered. Construction had only just finished , and no one have moved in yet…"_

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

**Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District**

**December 24th, 1996 - 4:22 PM**

"But Mommy, I…"

"Not 'buts' young man." Mrs. Kanbara shook her finger at her son, frowning. "I told you to watch Shinya this morning! What on earth were you going?"

"It's not like I went anywhere!" Takuya pouted, up to his elbows in suds. "I was upstairs in my room the whole time, I could everything he did!"

"Oh, really?" Mrs. Kanbara put her hands on her hips. "So I suppose you just thought the house could use a nice mural, did you?"

Takuya groaned and quickly finished his chore of scrubbing the wax crayon off the apartment wall. So maybe 'quickly' wasn't the right word, as it took another twenty minutes, but he did manage to complete the task to his mother's satisfaction and stormed up to his room. He made sure to slam the door, and felt very satisfied when his brother woke up crying just down the hall.

"Hmph. Stupid Shinya." He muttered, blowing up a tuft of brown hair as he crossed the room.

From under the bed a pair of wide, green eyes seamed almost to glow as they blinked at him from the darkness. "You sound like you're in a bad mood, Takuya."

"Stupid Shinya got me in trouble again." Takuya crouched down to gaze under the bed. "You can come out now, Flamon."

The Digimon scrambled out on all fours and straightened with a sigh. He was now almost twice Takuya's size, easily big enough to pick the little boy up. He stretched his long limbs lazily, his tail twitching. "Your brother got you in trouble?"

"Yeah!" Takuya plopped down onto his bed, crossing his arms and pouting. "He drew on the walls, and Mommy made _me_ clean it 'cause she said I wasn't watching him good enough. The little brat gets away with everything."

"Is he really that bad?" Flamon asked, crouching down on all fours.

"Uh-huh!" Takuya bobbed his head up and down. "He cried all the time, and he's always gettin' me in trouble! It's not fair!"

Flamon nodded in somewhat bewildered understanding, but there was an odd expression on his face. His long, bushy yellow tail swished back and forth across the floor as his ears twitched restlessly.

Takuya took notice. "What's the matter, Flamon?"

"I don't know." The Digimon gazed longingly out the window. "I feel like…something's happening out there. Something important."

Takuya watched the long, elf-like ears twitch. His face stretched into a smile as he jumped off the bed and ran to the window. "If you wanna go out, you can, you know!" He said, opening the window wide.

Flamon's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, sure!" Takuya grinned. "As long as nobody sees you, you can stay out all day! Just make sure you're home before it's too dark, okay?"

"All right!" Flamon took a running leap out the window, grabbing ahold of a tree branch and swung around twice before righting himself. "I'll be back, Takuya! Good luck with your mom!"

The little boy had to grin as he watched the brown shape disappear across the rooftops.

**( - )**

Kousei Minamoto yawned, stepping out of his office with belatedly-empty coffee mug. He rubbed his temple restlessly. Deals to make, bills to pay, phones ringing off the hook , and he still hadn't heard back from his lawyer with Tomoko's response…

A light giggling interrupted his groggy thoughts. He turned just in time to see his son Kouji scrambling across the hall, his twin brother Kouichi on his heals and laughing wildly.

Kousei couldn't help but smile. "Oh, boys."

Two identical heads popped back around the edge of the door. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hello yourselves." Kousei leaned down to pat Kouji on the head. "What are you two up to?"

"Just playing, Papa." Kouji smiled up at him cutely.

"Yeah, playing!" Kouichi piped, his identical smile beaming up at him just as adorably.

There was a small crash from inside the boy's play room. Kousei looked up sharply. "What was that?"

"Our…Our ball!" Kouichi's grin turned into a nervous one.

"It must've rolled into the closet again!" Kouji added, scrambling for an excuse.

Kousei raised an eyebrow. "Well then…" He sighed, stepping over his sons into the play room. "We better check to make sure nothing is broken."

The twins looked at each other in panic, but neither could stop their father as he strode across the room and right to the closet.

There was a small pile of boxed-up board games on the floor, tipped over into a mini-landslide with a stack of pop-up books beside it. A small musical toy was tink-tinkling away happily to itself beneath it all, but it soon died away as the tune ended.

"Looks like no harm done." He sighed, straightening a bit and patting Kouichi's head on the way out. "But you boys better be more careful, okay?"

"Okay!" The two chorused, and kept their broad smiles on their faces until the door closed behind him.

Both boys let their faces relax with a relieved sigh, then raced over to the now-collapsed pile of stuffed animals and started digging. Before too long they uncovered their cute little blob-like friends to find Kuroimon whimpering with pain over a rather red nose.

"What happened?" Kouichi asked gently, picking up his friend.

"I ran into the wall…" Kuroimon whimpered.

Then the stuffed things all went _plop_!" Karuimon added as Kouji scooped him out. "Right on top of us, too!"

Kouji patted his head sweetly. "You guys gotta calm down." He sighed. "Or Daddy'll find you, and he'll be mad…"

"Okay…" Karuimon groaned, wiggling free to drop down next to Kuroimon on the ground. Both Digimon cooed softly to each other, brushing their cheeks against each other's warmly.

Kouichi frowned worriedly, crouching down. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." Kuroimon sighed, turning his eyes towards the window. "I just feel kinda…nervous:

"Me too." Added Karuimon, shifting.

"Nervous?" Kouji crouched down next to his brother. The twins turned and blinked at each other in confusion. "About…what?"

**( - )**

"I-zuuuu-miii!"

Makumon fluttered her wings desperately to push herself forward. A sudden gust of icy-cold wind sent the little purple-and-blue Digimon tumbling into the blonde girl's outstretched arms.

"What's wrong, Makumon?" Izumi asked, cuddling her friend close.

"I-It's c-cold!" Makumon shrieked, curling into the fleece of Izumi's hoodie. "Wh-Why's it so cold, Zumi-chan?"

"'Cause it's winter, silly." Izumi giggled, unzipping her jacket a bit to let the Digimon snuggle inside. "Just you wait, it'll snow any day now, and then everything'll be real pretty!"

"What's snow?" Makumon blinked at her. "Is it cold?"

"Well, yeah." Izumi grinned down at Makumon warmly. "But it's so pretty you won't care how cold it is!"

"Well, it better get pretty real so!" Makumon whined, burying herself deeper into the folds of fabric. "…I hate the cold."

**( - )**

"Ready? Thunder Bubble!"

Junpei jumped back from the tree just as Raiumon fired the small bubble of glowing, flashing yellow. The bubble soared up into the branches of the tree and burst into a large flurry of violent sparks. The tree crackled with electricity, the few leaves that remained gripping at its branches falling loose.

The kite which had become stuck in those branches, however, remained ignorant of the sparks and firmly held its place. "Auw…" Raiumon groaned, curling up under his helmet-like cover. "It didn't work."

"Oh well." Junpei sighed, dropping down next to the Digimon and blowing on his gloved hands. "I guess it's a bit cold for kite-flying anyway."

Raiumon bounced over to his friend and jumped into Junpei's lap. The boy looked down at him. "Something wrong?"

"The air changed." Raiumon muttered, his brown eyes peaking out from under the hard blue shell. "Something's coming, Junpei. I don't think we should stay 'round here. We better go."

"Go?" Junpei asked, and the Digimon nodded. "Well, okay…if you say so, Raiumon."

He scrambled to his feet, wrapping the blue creature tightly in his windbreaker. The boy then headed out of the park and onto the slightly-icy sidewalks of the city, lightly lit by pale street lights in the gloomy, fading light.

Junpei sudden stopped and blinked up at the lamp above him as it flickered on and off quietly. Down the street the other lights were doing the same, as were the street signs, and the televisions in the windows.

"Uh-oh." He whispered breathlessly. "Something's happening again…"

**( - )**

Tomoki blinked up at the ceiling as the florescent lights above him began to flash on and off. In the next room, Yutaka began to complain as his electric guitar amp suddenly dropped to mute, then began blaring static. From the kitchen came his mother's worried mutterings as the rice cooker's timer sudden showed 12 hours and seventy-nine minutes to go.

The two-year-old grabbed ahold of the couch he was sitting beside and pulled himself unsteadily to his feet. "Chiemon-mon." He mumbled to himself, and set off down to his room.

He stumbled in almost haphazardly, grabbing onto the doorframe to steady himself. A broad smile spread over his face as he spotted his white-and-green friend. "Chiemon!" He piped happily, waddling forward. He tripped on the carpet, landing on his friend with arms spread wide in a hug…

And realized, abruptly, that what he had landed on was _not_ Chiemon.

That is to say, it _was_ Chiemon, but he wasn't Chiemon anymore. The little white blob had changed again, this time into something like a smallish polar bear. Though it walked on all fours, it was at least as big as Yutaka and easily able to carry Tomoki on its back as it stood. His eyes were big and blue, his white coat decorated with pale green tribe-like markings. A sort of green vest wrapped around his front legs, holding a sort of metal breast-plate with a silver symbol in the center of his chest.

Tomoki blinked at him sitting up slightly. "Chiemon?"

"It's me." The bear nodded slightly. "But I'm Kemmeimon now, Tomoki."

"Kemmeimon…" Tomoki repeated slowly. "Kemmeimon is…big!"

The bear-creature laughed softly, rubbing his muzzle with his paw in an embarrassed manner. "I'm not _that_ big." He giggled a moment, then stopped.

He sat up and stared pointedly out the open porch door in front of him, sniffing the air cautiously. Tomoki held on to the green vest to lean forward. "Kemmeimon…?"

"Something's coming." Kemmeimon stood up on all fours, stretching his limbs ever so slowly and still carrying the boy on his back. Tomoki, hold on tight. We're going for a ride."

"Yea! Ride!" Tomoki cheered, and held onto the bear's neck as he'd been told. "Yip yip!"

Kemmeimon shot off into an instant run and cleared the balcony easily. He landed with ease when they hit the ground, taking care not to jostle the toddler on his back, and took off for the trouble his nose was picking up ever-so-faintly.

**( - )**

Generally, once concreted is set and has solidified into a certain shape, it tends to stay that way. It is a rather rare and powerful sort of event indeed to cause this strong, solid substance to give up its taken state in any way, whether it be broken, crumbled or even moved.

One can only imagine, then, what it would take for such a solid, study object to _boil_, but that's exactly what it was doing beneath the newly-built Heighten Rise Apartments deep within the Odaiba prefecture.

The freshly-laid concrete floor of the lowest basement shifted and moaned, bubbling up into a rising boil. Support beams sank down and disappeared as something new began to form slowly. Across the city, lights and electronics fizzled out, short-circuited, went haywire, the flying sparks drifting in the wind towards the building as it began to shake from below.

From the floor rose and absolutely gargantuan figure, a tower shape almost too large to fit in the gap of the basement. Its skin was scaly, grayish-green, its eyes wide and golden, its claws the size of small cars. From the looks of it, it seamed to have only recently escaped Jurassic Park, but any historian could have told you that its namesake was never quite _this_ big…

The giant creature was not pleased with his current enclosed location. With a low roar he jutted his great head upwards, the great three-pronged horns breaking through the ground-floor level of the building all too easily. With its last support crushed under his huge foot the apartments tumbled down, crashing around and over the great beast without pause.

For a moment, all was quiet. Then Triceramon's roar echoed into the darkened night sky.

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

**Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District**

**December 24th, 1996 - 7:15 PM**

Flamon's ears twitched at the noise, his entire body going tense. "What…what was that?" He whispered breathlessly, green eyes wide. The clawed hand gripping the lamppost in mid-climb almost dug into the wood, it was so tense. The scream…roar, yell, whatever it had been…was bone-chilling and almost deafening. Something bad was happening. Really bad.

"…Takuya." He muttered, and dropped from the lamppost to run on all fours along the deserted street.

Or rather, the almost-deserted street. A new scent drifted to Flamon's nose, growing closer, carried on the wind, familiar, cool and minty and…icy…

"Woah!"

Flamon slid to a stop, just centimeters from hitting the white blur that shot past him. The bear-shaped Digimon was startled as well, sliding to a stop a few feet away. He turned back to blink at Flamon with big, blue eyes as the orange-clothed toddler on his back giggled.

Flamon straightened. "You. You're…Who…are you?" He breathed. He _knew_ this Digimon. He _knew_ he knew it. Why couldn't he remember?

"I'm Kemmeimon." The polar bear muttered, lumbering up to him. "You're a Digimon too, right?"

"Yeah. I'm Flamon."

"Moki moki!" The toddler called suddenly, smiling up at Flamon. "To-mo-ki!"

Flamon laughed. "Wow you're even smaller than Shinya!" He picked the child up in his hands. "Your name's Tomoki?"

"Yeah-yeah!"

Their conversation was cut off suddenly by an echoed roar as a cloud of dust rose up from the horizon. Flamon and Kemmeimon stiffened, both moving instinctively to protect the child from attacks that never actually came.

"What that?" Tomoki asked.

"A Digimon?" Flamon whispered.

"No doubt of it." Kemmeimon looked up at the other Digimon. "I wanna check it out. Do me a favor and take care of him."

Without waiting of an answer, he took off. "Hey, wait!"

"Kemmeimon!" Tomoki called, squirming. "Go…Go-no! Go-no!"

"It's okay…" Flamon struggled to keep ahold of the little boy. "He'll be back…in a bit…"

Not knowing what else to do, he put Tomoki over his shoulder and took off back down the street. "Man, Takuya's not gonna like this…"

**( - )**

Makumon nearly dropped out of the sky at the monstrous roar, one that was dangerously close and made the ground shake beneath them.

"What was that?" Izumi asked out loud, turning her head slightly to look up at the gray sky.

"Izumi!" Makumon shrieked, flapping her wings. "We have to get out of…"

Before she could finish, the trees behind her were suddenly felled by one swipe of huge, scaly green claws. The child and Digimon found themselves staring up into the many glistening silver rows of fireplug-sized teeth, the gates that opened and closed around a tongue as large as a taxi cab, all of which was only the beginning to the huge, monstrously ugly face framed by think, wide sets of horns.

Izumi did what any six-year-old girl would have done in the same situation. She screamed. Loudly. And in a rather high octave.

"Izumi, move!" Makumon shouted. She adjusted her wings to crash into Izumi's side, knocking the girl to the side just as the huge claw came down again, throwing up a huge cloud of dust.

Izumi coughed against the sand. "Makumon!"

"Izumi!" The Digimon shrieked, being tossed head-over-heels through the air. "We gotta get out of here!"

The little girl didn't waste any breath on agreeing. She leapt up and snatched her floaty little friend in mid-air, sprinting down the sidewalk at top speed.

Triceramon growled low in his throat, lumbering after them. For such a huge Digimon, he moved remarkably fast, ripping the park-grown trees from the ground as he charged, roaring as he did.

"Why's he chasing us?" Izumi cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "What _is_ he?"

"It's Triceramon!" Makumon gasped from her arms. "I remember Digimon like him! They're _mean_!"

"Then he's a bully!" Izumi shrieked and tripped as her foot caught on an uneven piece of concrete. She crashed to the ground and the Digimon flew out of her arms. "Makumon!"

The Digimon bounced, trying to right herself. "Izumi, watch out!"

Izumi rolled over and found herself staring up into Triceramon's beady yellow eyes. The huge jaws opened to fire a huge gust of hot air over the girl, bearing all his teeth in preparation for decent.

"Makumon!" The child screamed, backing away frantically.

"Izumi!" Makumon launched herself through the air. Above and around them, street lights suddenly shortened and blinked…

"_Makumon, Digivolve to…Fushamon!"_

**( - )**

Junpei ran through the park.

He didn't honestly know why he was running, but he was. His muscles fired one after another at a rapid pace, his heart racing alongside them in panic. Raiumon, still being carried in his arms, glance around them nervously as well, he blue eyes wide in panic. Something was coming.

Something was _here_.

"This is bad…" Raiumon muttered.

"No kidding." Junpei groaned. "It's getting late. Mom's gonna kill me!"

"not that!" Raiumon struggled free from his hold, bounding along the sidewalk deeper into the trees. "Someone's in trouble!"

"What? Hey!" Junpei took off after him. "Raiumon!"

They ran faster than before, and it wasn't long before they saw something really…strange.

A huge dinosaur had cleared a path as thick as a building through the trees and was currently in a furious fight with a second, much small creature.

The smaller one was about the size of your average eleven-year-old girl, with two legs and a head, but that's where the normalcy ended. Her arms were actually lush purple wings that sparkled iridescently in the sun, the same feather covering her upper body just beneath a pair of soft-looking blue sashes, crossed over her chest and connected with an odd silver symbol. The lower half of her body was covered in a dark blue down, ending with pointed toes hidden by purple ballet slippers. Her face was rather attractive, though pointed and covered by the same purple as the rest of her body, pulling back into a head of long blue feathers, making her pretty emerald eyes stand out even more.

Beneath them both, it the sheltering shade of the smaller creature's wings, was a little blonde girl dressed in purple. She was staring up at the battle, eyes wide with fear. "Fushamon!"

"Oh, man." Junpei's eyes bugged out.

"That girl's in trouble!" Raiumon called, bouncing. "We gotta help!"

"Yeah, but how?" Junpei suddenly noticed that the dinosaur's feet were stomping dangerously close to the girl, who was so busy watching her friend that she didn't even notice. "Hey, watch out!"

He dove forward, just in time to bust her out of the way. Raiumon leapt out as well, an a strange electronic beeping filled the air…

"_Raiumon, Digivolve to…Kaminarimon!"_

Junpei looked up from where he and the girl were crouched, just as Kaminarimon caught Triceramon's clawed foot, tossing it away and throwing the giant Digimon off-balance. Then he landed, his gossamer wings disappearing behind his hard blue beetle-like shell, marked with another strange yellow symbol. The body beneath the cover was yellow and segmented with four arms, which ending in a blue glow, and four legs ending in heavy blue boots. When he moved on the ground, he walked on all his feet as well as his hands, so that he scuttled like a bug. His head was covered by a blue helmet, just over his dark brown eyes in a permanently-serious expression.

Kaminarimon blinked up at Fushamon ads she landed next to him. "You okay?"

"Fine." Fushamon nodded, her body still tense as they faced the Triceramon.

"What about you?" Junpei asked, helping the girl up.

"I'm okay…" She sighed, pulling her arm free. "Thanks."

Junpei blushed lightly. "No problem…"

"Izumi." Fushamon muttered as Triceramon started to stand, growling and snorting. "You two gotta get out of the way."

"Right." Izumi nodded. "Come on!"

The kids scrambled back, as far out of the way as they could without loosing sight of them. The two smaller Digimon faced Triceramon, tensing all over.

"You think we can beat him?" Kaminarimon asked.

"Not by ourselves." Fushamon gulped. "We're gonna need help…"

**( - )**

Karuimon and Kuroimon sat in the window of the twin's playroom, staring pointedly out at the lightly-glowing city evening. Kuroimon whimpered slightly, his spiritual 'brother' nudging him over to rub against him comfortingly.

Kouichi looked up at them, clutching Neko-chan close to him from where he'd been playing. What's wrong, Kuroimon?"

"Is something happening, Karuimon?" Kouji asked, leaning over the two Digimon to gaze out the window.

Karuimon's ears twitched. "Something bad."

"Someone's in trouble." Kuroimon whimpered.

"In trouble?" Kouichi stood. "Who?"

"I dunno" Kuroimon looked up at him. "But they need out help!"

"Yeah!" Karuimon echoed, jumping down. The two Digimon leapt from the room, running through the house and straight for the front door.

"W-Wait!" Kouichi cried as the twins raced after them.

"Where're you going?"

Karuimon jumped up, undoing the lock on the front door, and Kuroimon turned the knob. "We gotta help." Whispered the white Digimon, and they jumped out.

The twins paused in the door, looking at each other worriedly. "Should we follow them?" Kouichi asked.

"Yeah, we gotta." Kouji ran to the closet to fetch both of their coats and shoes. "Come on, let's hurry!"

**( - )**

"Takuya."

"The boy shifted and rolled over, snoring lightly. The blanket pulled over his shoulders, slipped down them and onto the windowsill he was sitting on.

"Takuya?" Poke poke.

"Nrmph…" The boy groaned, burying his eyes in his arms.

"Um, Takuya…"

Poke, poke, poke…_yank_.

"Ow!" Takuya shot straight up, snatching up the toddler whose tiny hands had gripped his hair. "Darn it, Shinya, what have I…"

He stopped suddenly, staring into big green eyes as they poked out from under mousy brown hair. The two year old in his hands blinked at him, turning his head cutely. "Taku?"

Takuya blinked sleepily. "You're not Shinya."

"Uh, no." Flamon crouched on the windowsill, his tail twitching as it dangled out the window. "His name's Tomoki."

"Moki-moki." Piped the toddler.

Takuya's eyes went wide. "Flamon? What…Where'd the kid come from?"

"He was with a Digimon," Flamon's ears twitched a bit. "who asked me to take care of him."

"A Digimon?" Takuya exclaimed. "Like you?"

"Kemmeimon!" Tomoki giggled happily.

"He's not the only one." Flamon turned to stare out at the cloud of dust rising against the stars.

Takuya shifted the toddler to carry him sitting on his hip, the way he usually held Shinya, and went to stand next to his feral friend's post. "Is that where the other Digimon is?"

"Yeah. And he's in trouble."

Tomoki frowned, his lower lip jutting out. "Kemmeimon."

Takuya took a deep breath. "Could you help him, Flamon?"

"I think so." Whispered the Digimon, looking down at his friend curiously.

Takuya's face was set in determination. "Let's go."

_**TBC…**_


	6. Spirits

(staring in surprise at the completely-filled notebook) Wow…Germany is amazing for inspiration. I think I've got half a dozen chapters written here…all on different stories. I guess I better get typing, eh? Enjoy!

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon or anything to do with it. I am just, quite simply, utterly and completely obsessed._

**More More Happy Christmas**

**Chapter 6: Spirits**

_"What's the matter, Takuya-nii?"_

_"Forget to breathe again?"_

_"Ha-ha. I'm just thinking."_

_"You think?"_

_"Hey! I'm _serious _guys. I'm trying to figure out what's familiar about all of this."_

_"Well, you said you lived in Odaiba when you were a kid, right?"_

_"That's not what I mean. I mean, why is it familiar to have all of us here together, in this spot?" _

_"Actually…I does kind feel like we've already done this."_

_"I told you, I swear, this has happened before. I just wish I could remember… when…"_

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

**Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District**

**December 24th, 1996 - 9:07 PM**

Flamon ran swiftly across the lightly-paved rooftop, not even pausing a moment as he leapt nimbly off and landed on the next one. Takuya, riding piggy-back, gasped slightly and held on tighter.

"Don't worry." The Digimon grinned back at him soothingly. "I won't let you fall."

"That's nice to know." Takuya groaned, looking rather queasy.

"Yea!" Cheered Tomoki from Flamon's arms, waving his pudgy hands with a huge grin on his face. "Again, again!"

Takuya groaned as they took another running leap. "You've got some stomach, kid…"

A flash of something like thunder caught his eye. Queasiness forgotten, he sat up and focused as best he could on the cloud of dust rising up from the park only a few blocks away. The cloud rose like the fallout of an explosion, a strange, brownish mist that occasionally lit up with flashes of lightening or whirled with small tornados.

"Is that it?" He asked, tensing slightly.

"Yeah. Those are definitely Digimon attacks."

Tomoki squirmed. "Kemmeimon-mon."

"More likely than not." Flamon shifted the little boy to increase his hold. "Takuya, hang on tight. I'm picking up the pace."

The six-year-old gulped, wrapping his arms around his friend's neck. "I don't like the sound of…that…" was all he managed to say before they suddenly dropped and the air was thrown from his lungs.

**( - )**

**10:37 PM**

"Striking Thunder!"

"Kaze Spiral!"

The forked tongue of electricity lashed down from the cloudy sky, grazing Triceramon's huge cheek as the giant Digimon moved to avoid the tiny tornado of razor-sharp wind. Fushamon was suddenly in front of him, one foot going straight up into his jaw as Kaminarimon landed a hard punch to his left foreleg.

Triceramon roared lightly, bringing up his right fore-claw to swipe at the bird-like Digimon, sending her crashing into the blue beetle. Fushamon cried out, as did Kaminarimon as he companion hit his soft underside and knocked him on his hard back before she bounced painfully to the ground.

"Uh…" The blue beetle waved his arms and legs, rocking back and forth in a desperate attempt to right himself. "A little help?"

"Kaminarimon!" Junpei exclaimed, and he and Izumi scrambled forward.

Fushamon, who was trying to push her teammate back to his eight feet, yelled at them. "Izumi, stay back! It's dangerous!"

"But Fushamon…"

"Stay _away_!" Shouted the female Digimon, and shot a blast of air through her hands to topple the bug back onto his usual position.

Junpei's eyes widened sharply. "Watch out!"

The two smaller creatures looked up just as a massive claw plummeted down from the sky. They barely had time to move, let alone dodge as they were thrown off their feet and into the trees, crunching at least two each before they stopped.

"No!" Junpei shouted.

"Fushamon, get up!" Izumi shrieked.

Triceramon growled, turning towards the two Rookies as they tried to recover their senses enough to move. His three horns glowed softly, a venomous red color that grew bright and bright like a stove burner slowly warming up.

"Get out of there, you two!" Junpei yelled, and Izumi covered her eyes with her hands.

Triceramon's growl turned into a low roar as the three horn-lights merged into one beam, his yellow eyes locked on his targets beadily. "Tri Horn!"

"Blizzard Bite!"

Triceramon's huge head jerked, the lave-red beams misfiring into the empty darkness of the night. Junpei and Izumi stared in awe, as did Fushamon and Kaminarimon as they smallish white bear dropped to the ground and landed easily in front of them, his teeth and claws still glowing an icy blue.

Friendly blue eyes turned to grin at his two fellow Rookie. "Need some help?" he asked, and a puff of chill-laced breath floating from his mouth.

Kaminarimon grinned. "What took you?"

Fushamon nudged him. "Thanks," she said to the bear, bristling all over as she advanced, "But we don't have time to talk."

"Indeed." Kemmeimon growled softly. Triceramon was recovering from his attack, snarling and snapping in vicious rage. "We're gonna need all the time we have right now…"

**( - )**

**10:45 PM**

Kuroimon and Karuimon leapt down the sidewalk at top speed, taking two-foot leaps with each bound. Occasionally they paused a moment to wait for the two humans scrambling to keep up with them on the icy cement.

"Hurry, Nii-san!" Kouji urged, pulling his brother by the arm.

"I'm trying!" Kouichi gasped, stumbling a bit on the slick ground. His brows were furled in a worried expression, a somewhat frightened pout on his lips.

Kuroimon stopped to look up at his friend. "What is it, Kouichi-kun?"

"I…I don't like it here." Kouichi muttered hesitantly, holding his brother's hand all the more tightly.

"Is it the dark?" Kuroimon asked. "I told you, Kouichi-kun, you don't have to be scared no more! I'm gonna protect you, no matter what!"

Kouji gripped his brother's hand. "I…" His eyes were slightly downcast, looking both at his feet and just ahead of them at the same time. "I don't like it either, Nii-san. It's not the dark. It's something else. Something's wrong. Really wrong."

Kouichi nodded, gazing around them at the steadily-dissipating cloud of dust. There was a slight tinge of something like static electricity in it all, making their hair stand ever so slightly on end and cling to the air. The wind swirled strangely, in a way that wind normal didn't move in the city.

"Somethin _is_ happening." Karuimon whispered seriously, his blue eyes narrowed at the trees in front of them, the entrance to the sparse park. "In there."

A bolt of lightening shot from the sky into the depths of the trees. On instinct, the twins leapt back in one motion, Kouichi moving to grab ahold of his brother's arm with both hands. Karuimon and Kuroimon bristled all over. "That's not normal lightening!" The black kitty-thing squeaked.

"It's an attack. A Digimon!" Karuimon hissed, bounding forward. "Come on, Kuroimon!"

But they'd hardly gone four feet before a beam of fiery red shot from the trees, leveling several of them in its wake. Kouji jumped to the side, pushing his brother out of the way and sending them both crashing to the ground just out of the way of the beam.

Karuimon uncurled from his defensive position, the top of his fur lightly singed from the attack. "Wow."

"That would've hurt." Kuroimon whimpered.

"Are you okay, Kouji?" Kouichi asked as the boys started to move.

Kouji sighed, brushing himself off. "Fine, Nii-san. I'm…"

A sharp crack cut him off. Both twins looked up and froze as a nearby street lamp, its base melted away by the red beam, toppled over with the boys directly in its steadily growing shadow. Kouji drew in a sharp breath, gripping his brother's shoulders as Kouichi's arms went around his waist, both actions protective and futile as the huge metal beam came down.

"Kouji!" Karuimon cried.

"Kouichi!" Kuroimon shrieked as the two raced forward. And around them, there was a strange sort of ringing, metallic beeping…

"_Kuroimon, Digivolve to…Yiniyamon!"_

_"Karuimon, Digivolve to…Yanagamon!"_

The twins, still crouched over each other on the ground, were momentarily surprised to be lifted into the air together and swept easily out of the shadow. Two pairs of blue eyes looked up into a friendly, cat-like face, covered in soft black fur with the occasional golden yellow tabby strips on his face and ears. His eyes were wide and brown, and as he landed on two legs they realized he was about the size of the average twelve-year-old boy, with clawed hands and feet, a long tail swishing in behind him. He was treed in yellow-gold clothing, lined with black stitching, flared pants and a vest with golden bracelets on his wrists. Supported across his chest, dangling on a chain between the open sides of the vest, was an odd golden symbol.

The lamppost, now a good eight feet to their right, had been caught by a white, dog-like creature of similar size and build. His face was that of a white wolf-dog with shining blue eyes, his silky white fur covered with swirling blue markings, especially at the tips of his nose and ears. His outfit was exactly similar, only blue and silver rather than gold and black, and the silver symbol across his chest was completely different from the gold.

Both twins just stared a moment, slightly agape, before Kouichi could bring himself to speak. "Ku…Kuroimon?"

"Yiniyamon." Corrected the cat-thing, smiling as he set them both down on their feet. "I told you I'd protect you, didn't I?"

The wolf-thing…Yanagamon…tossed the lamppost to the side harmlessly. "Everybody okay?" He asked, checking Kouji over.

"We're fine! Everyone's fine!" Kouji giggled, squirming in the Digimon's claws. "Cut it out, that tickles!"

Yanagamon grinned, scooping his friend up somewhat haphazardly, almost like a game. But before it could go too far, the laughter was cut off by a not-so-distant roar and a fork of lightening.

The four figures stopped, staring into the trees silently. Then Yanagamon, holding Kouji almost sideways, spoke softly. "We better go."

"Yeah." Yiniyamon crouched down and lifted Kouichi into a protective embrace. His golden eyes were set just the same as his companion's blue ones, narrowed in the serious defense of an animal protecting its pack and territory.

"You ready?" Yiniyamon whispered.

"Oh yeah." Yanagamon tightened his hold on Kouji, setting the younger twin upright. "Let's go."

**( - )**

**11:06 PM**

Flamon's eyes widened as he took a particularly far-reaching leap off one of the tall buildings, shooting out over the trees that made up the sparse park. Down below, through the wind and the dust, he could see a giant Digimon, much bigger than him…Triceramon? That sounded right somehow…fighting with a trio of smaller ones, Rookie-levels of his own data size. Despite having their foe outnumbered, the Rookies were being gradually overpowered by the huge Digimon's strength, and Kaminarimon was one of them…

"Flamon!" Takuya shrieked from his back, jerking the Digimon back into reality just in time to switch Tomoki into a one-armed hold and grab ahold of a tree trunk, sliding slightly with just enough friction to slow their decent and drop them easily to the ground.

The Digimon sighed, straightening. They were only a few meters from the battle. It was close enough for him to hear the attacks being thrown against the huge beast:

"Blizzard Bite!"

"Striking Thunder!"

"Kaze Spiral!"

Tomoki blinked up at the Digimon carrying him. "Flamon-mon.

Flamon crouched down, letting Takuya off and handing him the two-year-old. "You guys have to stay out of the way, okay?"

"What? Flamon!" Takuya exclaimed, eyes wide. "Why should we?"

"It's dangerous." The Digimon pouted up at his friend with pleading eyes. "Please, Takuya, I don't want you to get hurt."

The child wavered a bit. Being six, he couldn't actually remember when, if ever, somebody had actually been concerned for his immediate safety, and it…rather confused him.

"Please, Takuya?" Flamon's ears twitched sadly.

"Fine." Takuya nodded. "We'll stay out of it. Just go, hurry. They need help!"

A large, fanged grin spread over the Digimon's face. "You got it!"

Dropping to all fours, he bounded out into the ruined clearing and leapt into the air to lunge at the huge creature. "Blazing Claw!"

His red claws ignited seconds before he smashed his hand into the dinosaur's side. Triceramon roared and twisted around to swipe at him, but missed as the brown creature back flipped out of the way and landed near the other Rookies.

"Nice." Kaminarimon complemented.

Flamon smirked. "Pretty hot, right?" He quipped. Once again, he had mental flashes of knowing this situation, knowing these Digimon, but there wasn't enough time for him to dwell on that.

Kemmeimon bristled slightly, looking up at the humanoid pyro-type. "Where's Tomoki?"

"He's safe, don't worry." Flamon grinned. "Takuya's taking care of him."

"Who's…"

"Kemmeimon!"

The bear turned to find his young charge poking his head out of the bushes. A huge smile was on the toddler's face as he cheered. "Go, go!"

The ice-Digimon grinned. "You got it."

Another head popped from the bushes, this belonging to the slightly-older boy holding Tomoki around the waist, and he had a warning: "Watch out!"

The bear's reaction time shot to life, leaping out of the way of the dino's huge tail just before it came crashing down on them.

Fushamon bristled all over, her wings trembling slightly in the cold wind. "Kaze Spiral!"

Swirling winds appeared from nowhere into the mini-tornado. Flamon caught sight of it and sparked and idea. "Blazing Claw!"

The flames flew from his hand to catch in the spiral winds. Fed by the swirling air the fire quickly grew, soon becoming a miniature, fiery tornado that slammed into Triceramon's side. The dino roared in pain, recoiling from them with a searing burn along his right side.

"You got him!" Izumi cheered.

"Not quite…" Junpei gulped, pointing. "Look!"

Triceramon's tail whipped around, slamming into both Fushamon and the still-airborne Flamon, slamming them both into the ground hard enough to leave small, though deep, craters. His left forepaw swung around to swipe Kaminarimon from the air and into Kemmeimon, pinning both.

"No!" Takuya cried, hauling Tomoki away from the fight and towards the other kids.

The toddler squirmed. "Kemmei! Kemmei!"

"Get out of there!" Junpei hollered as the huge Digimon's giant mouth descended on the pinned pair…

"Umbra Swipe!"

"Illumi Flash!"

A white-hot beam of light shot across Triceramon's eyes as a whip of dark, purplish energy came lashing down from behind. The monster roared, lifting both forearms to cover his blinded eyes as he stumbled back in pain.

Yiniyamon and Yanagamon dropped out of the inky night sky, carrying to identical little boys in their arms protectively. They landed nimbly alongside the other children, confident smirks on each of their lips.

"Looks like we found the problem." Yanagamon muttered setting Kouji down.

"Looks like it." Yiniyamon agreed, setting Kouichi down as well. "Shall we help?"

"We already have." Yanagamon stretched his shoulders. "Besides, we gotta protect the kids."

"Good point."

'Hey!" Flamon shouted down, dashing by on all fours and throwing himself at the huge monster. "We don't have time for chit-chat!"

Yanagamon rolled his eyes. "He's impatient."

"I kind of like him." Yiniyamon smiled, and the two leapt into the fray.

Kouichi slid quietly next to his brother, never taking his eyes off the battle as he grabbed Kouji's hand. "are they gonna be okay?"

Before the other twin could respond, Izumi suddenly appeared behind him with a broad smile on her face. "Of course they will! If they're anything like Fushamon and the others, they'll be great!"

"Yeah!" Junpei added, pumping his fists. "It's six-against-one!"

"That bully won't stand a chance!" Takuya put in with a huge grin.

In his arms, Tomoki squirmed and giggled. "Bad Dino!" he squawked. "Kemmei-Kemmei go!"

As the battled raged above them, Kaminarimon grinned. "Always nice to have support."

"In more ways than one." Fushamon added, soaring overhead. "Look!"

The other managed to spare fleeting glances upwards to find big, heavy white flakes floating down from the thick gray clouds high above. A lopsided, fanged grin slid across Flamon's face. "Looks like the weather's on your side, Kemmeimon."

"Let's hope it's enough." The bear grumbled. "Blizzard Bite!"

Triceramon's annoyed rumbled turned to snarls and snapping at the air. The snow stung his sensitive eyes, making hard to see the increasingly regular attacks as they came one after another…burning fire, scaring wind, sharp cold, harsh lightening, blaring light and searing darkness, each in rapid succession and a never-ending ring of light, but gradually significant, pains.

His golden eyes fell on the huddle of humans just out of the battle, his sharp ears picking up their cheers and minor insults against him. A low growl rumbled from his throat as the three-pronged horns began to glow red.

Yiniyamon frowned, pausing next to his partner in the branches of a high tree. "He's attacking."

"But where's he…aiming…" Yanagamon's blue eyes widened sharply. "No!"

Fushamon, who had also figured out the trajectory, had a similar reaction. "Izumi!" She shrieked, pulling her wings in and going into a dive.

"Junpei!" Exclaimed Kaminarimon, turning in mid-air to shoot back.

"Tomoki!" Gasped Kemmeimon, bursting into a frantic run.

"Takuya, move!" Flamon shouted, pushing off the tree he was mounted on. "Run!"

"Kouji!"

"Kouichi-kun!" Yiniyamon and Yanagamon dropped from the tree just as a deafening roar echoed over them.

"TRI-HORN!"

Everything happened rather slowly. AS soon as they saw the beam, Izumi and Junpei both tried to push each other out of the way, the result being that he knocked Takuya, who was trying to cover Tomoki, to the ground, which she crashed into the twins, each of whom was trying to protect the other. They all collapsed into a kind of pile just as the Digimon leapt to their air, flinging themselves forward to received the brunt of the blast.

There was a hot, searing noise, somewhat akin to water dripping out of a pot and boiling instantly on the warm burner, only a million times louder.

Then there was silence.

This was soon broken by a triumphant, echoing roar from the gigantic monster.

Takuya groaned, coughing against a second rising cloud of dust and smoke as he pulled himself and a whimpering Tomoki from the ground. "Is everybody okay?"

"Peachy." Moaned Junpei, rolling over to stand.

Kouji helped his brother up by the arm, blue eyes darting around wildly. "Where are they?"

Izumi let out a sudden gasp. "There!"

The others followed the line of her pointing finger to a straight row of fallen trees and charred ground. Their Rookie-level friends were sprawled almost evenly across the blackened ground, not moving, their eyes closed.

A dull shock ran through Takuya's body, sliding along into the others. "N-No…way…"

"They can't…" Kouichi's whisper was frightened and hesitant, holding onto his brother tightly. "They can't do it…They can't…"

"Nii-san, stop it!" Kouji increased his protective grip, trying desperately to ignore the tears welling up in his eyes involuntarily. "You can't…talk like that…Kouichi-nii…"

Tomoki hiccupped. "K-Kemmei…"

A loud _boom_ and a crunch drew their attentions away from their fallen friends and back towards the huge creature. Triceramon was approaching them oh-so-slowly, leaving huge, crater-like footprints in the ground as he moved. His yellow eyes were focused murderously on the huddle group, a maniacal gleam deep within.

Junpei stumbled back slightly, then turned to yell. "Come on, Kaminarimon! Get up!"

"Hurry, Fushamon!" Izumi shrieked. "He's coming!"

The Rookies groaned painfully and shook just a little, but none of them made a move to sit up.

"Yiniyamon!"

"Yanagamon!"

"Get out of there!" The twins chorused as Triceramon stomped ever closer to the helpless group.

"Come on, Flamon!" Takuya shouted with all the force his little lungs could muster. "You can't let him win!"

But the Digimon couldn't hear them, or weren't able to respond if they did, not as Triceramon paused in front of the kids and roared in a way that made all of the kids dive to cover their ears in pain.

Tomoki was blubbering now. Generally, he had a rather mild temperament for a two-year-old, bright and happy without much complaining at all. But in a situation such as this, anyone could be expected to burst into tears. Especially a toddler.

"Ke-Kemmei…" He whimpered, struggling even as Takuya gripped him tighter around the waist. Tears bubbled from his green eyes and splashed down his cheeks in waves. "KEMMEIMON!"

A splash of tears fell to the ground in the midst of his scream, and the dark park was suddenly flooded with rainbow lights.

Triceramon stopped and roared in confusion, reeling back as he searched for the source of the light. The kids, too, froze in their tracks and stared around them in awe.

"What in the…?" Junpei faltered, taking several steps back.

"Something's happening." Kouichi whispered, his eyes reflecting Kouji's surprise.

"But…what?" Takuya breathed, and Tomoki cooed softly.

Izumi saw it first, her blue eyes instantly lighting up. "L-Look!"

They looked. And many nearly lost their balance in surprise.

Flamon was standing somewhat steadily, the symbol on his belt buckle glowing with bright red-and-orange sparks. His blue eyes were narrowed in determination, his tail flicking eagerly in a way that sent sparks flying from the rocks beneath him.

Kaminarimon leapt back to his feet, the symbol on his shell glowing a bright, sizzling yellow. He stamped his thick blue boots with a resounding roise that echoed like thunder.

Fushamon was suddenly in the air once more, the symbol between her ribbons glowing a brilliant pink like wild-flower petals in the wind. The air around her swirled and looped in intricate, strong breezes and gusts that rustled the leaves around her.

Kemmeimon groaned slightly as he lifted himself back to all fours, the silver charm on his chest glowing a pale, frosty green. He sniffed at the flakes around him and growled softly, firing a gust of icy-cold breath.

Yanagamon's symbol was a shining blue as he leapt to his feet, fangs bared and claws glowing with his own energy. Beside him, Yiniyamon's symbol swirled a dark purple, ears twitching restlessly as darkness swirled around his hand. Standing next to each other, they seamed to both clash with and compliment each other at the same time.

Above and between them all came another kind of light, this one from the sky. It was neither sunlight nor moonlight, though it seamed exactly like and exactly unlike them both. It was soft pink as well as dark blue, calming and invigorating, bright and dim all at the same time. It seamed to come from the clouds and from the falling snow, filling the entire park but never once touching the buildings or streets around it.

It was, in short, the most beautiful thing any of the children had seen in their brief lives.

"_Do you remember now?" _Whispered the Light in a voice that seamed both male and female, young and old, but not quite any of them either. "_Remember, little ones, the powers your home has gifted to you. The strength of the elements rests within you."_

Triceramon roared in pain. The Light, though soft and calming to all the other brings present, was unbearable to him as he reared back, hands over his eyes.

"He…He can't fight back!" Kouji let a broad grin stretch over his young face.

"Here's your chance!" Junpei shouted.

"Yeah!" Takuya spun around, a huge, expectant smirk shining in his eyes. "Get 'em, guys!"

Flamon grinned. "You got it."

The six smaller Digimon shot forward, on land and in the air, flinging themselves ahead for one last, spirited strike, all of them at once:

"Blazing Claw!"

"Kaze Spiral!"

"Blizzard Bite!"

"Striking Thunder!"

"Illumi Flash!"

"Umbra Swipe!"

The elements swirled together into one blow, ramming the Ultimate firmly in his soft underbelly. Triceramon screamed, the final roar echoing through the streets of Odaiba as it swirled around him, then vanished slowly as the energy gave out.

A flurry of blue sparks accompanied the huge egg up into the clouds. And then there was silence.

_**TBC…**_


	7. Goodbye

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own Digimon or anything to do with it. I am just, quite simply, utterly and completely obsessed._

**More More Happy Christmas**

**Chapter 7: Goodbye**

_"You know what?"_

_"What?"_

_"The sunset's really pretty around here."_

_"Yeah…It really is…"_

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

**Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District**

**December 24th, 1996 - 11:53 PM**

Six small Digimon stood at the very center of the newly-created, almost barren clearing. The shining lights of their markings and symbols had faded already, but the gently glow from above remained even as the remains of Triceramon's data disappeared into thin air.

"…It's over now, isn't it?" Kaminarimon asked softly.

"Yeah." Flamon sighed, his blue eyes almost looking sad. "It's…over."

"I remember now." Fushamon's voice nearly blew away in the wind. "That voice…"

Their soft conversation was shattered suddenly by the sound of a dozen feet approaching very quickly. As a group, they turned, and smiles blossomed all around as they saw the kids scrambling up to them, their faces and eyes wide with excitement and joy.

"You did it!" Izumi shrieked happily, leaping into Fushamon's outstretched arms. "You got him!"

"You guys really showed _him_ who's boss!" Junpei punched the air excitedly.

Kaminarimon chuckled and buzzed around him. "We couldn't have done it without you guys."

"Yeah." Flamon nodded, having knelt down to Takuya's level to put his arms around the boy. "You're what saved us."

"No way!" Takuya shook his head furiously. "Without _you_ guys, we'd be toast!"

"Kemmeimon!" Tomoki squealed. He wiggled out of Takuya's arms and onto the snow-covered ground, toddling over to the bear-like Digimon. Kemmeimon cuddled his friend happily, nuzzling with his muzzle.

Yiniyamon ruffled Kouichi's hair, glancing over at Kouji momentarily. "Are you two okay?"

"Okay? Are you kidding?" Kouji smiled broadly, grinning up at Yanagamon. "You guys were awesome!"

"He didn't ask about _us_." Yanagamon pointed out. "He asked about _you_."

Kouichi nestled a bit further into Yiniyamon's arms. "We're okay. No boo-boos or nothing."

The black cat-like creature let a soft smile cross his face. "That's good."

"_Little ones."_

At once, the Digimon stopped. Ears perked and stances straightened as they looked up into the pale blue-pink light, their frosted breath catching in their throats.

Izumi held onto Fushamon's legs, blinking up into the lightly-glowing sky. "Wh-Who's that?"

"I remember." The flying female Digimon whispered, her soft speech slow and dry. "I remember now. Lord…Lord Lucemon…"

The light sparkled softly like new daylight, twinkling like stars in an inky night sky. The gentle colors danced around them, radiating and endless sense of eternal calm.

"_My little ones…" _The Voice whispered again, almost like a song. "_You have done well. So very well. I do hope you realize now why you were sent to this world."_

"Lord Lucemon…" Flamon faltered a moment, then fell silent. He, like the other Digimon, knew that no words were needed now. They simply nodded.

"_Good."_ The voice echoed softly. "_Then it is time for you to return home…and leave this world."_

"No!"

Takuya's shout was echoed by his fellow humans as they scrambled to grab ahold of their friends. The brown-haired boy's goggled glistened softly in the strange light as he looked up at Flamon, big, thick tears brimming his eyes. "You can't go! You just got here!"

"I don't want you to go!" Izumi sniffed. Fushamon knelt down to put her wing-arms around the little girl lovingly.

"_Children…"_

"I-I…" Kouichi sobbed softly as he held onto the cat-like Digimon's pants leg. "I'm not scared of the dark anymore, Yiniyamon! You can't just…"

"You can't just leave!" Kouji insisted, pulling on Yanagamon's leg with a thin layer of moisture building up. "You said you'd be here!"

"_Children…"_

"Kemmeimon no-go!" Tomoko shrieked, holding onto his friend's bear-like neck. No one could say how he could have understood what was happening, but he held on just as tightly as they others.

"I won't let you go!" Junpei exclaimed, grabbing onto Kaminarimon's hand. "I won't!"

"_Children!"_

The voice was no louder than before, nor was it any harsher, but it commanded respect in such a way that the humans were suddenly silent. At least, they didn't say anything, though a few snivels and sniffs did remain as they looked up.

"_Children of the Human World." _Said the Voice, soothingly and gently. "_I thank you for everything you have done for us. However, you must understand…your friends do not belong in this world. The time has come for them to come home."_

"It's not fair!" Izumi sobbed.

"She's right!" Takuya snapped.

Flamon turned pleading eyes to his friend. "Takuya…"

"She it!" Takuya looked up at him with teary eyes. "You just got here! It's not fair that you gotta go!"

"_Fear not."_ Soothed the voice. "_I assure you, this will not be the end."_

Once again, everything stopped. Even the snow seamed somehow more silent as it fell in time to the Voice's gentle beat.

"_You little ones were drawn to these children for a reason. No matter how far the distance between you may be, you must know that your friendship…your bond between this world and our own…will remain."_

There was no response. They understood, of course…the words were more than that, more of a feeling that conveyed it better than any words in any language ever could, especially to so young an audience…but what could anyone say to such a thing? It was mind-boggling and yet, at the same time, it held a sense of hope.

"_Now…"_ Sighed the voice as an unseasonably warm wind began to blow. "_It is time to say goodbye."_

Izumi sobbed lightly as she held onto Fushamon, the purple Digimon's arms folded around her tightly. "I-I'm gonna miss you, F-Fushamon."

"Me too." The Digimon held tighter, a slight tear rolling down her feathered cheek. "Me too."

Tomoki cooed in a worried manner as he blinked up at the mini-polar bear. "Kemmei go bai-bai?"

"Yeah…'Fraid so." Kemmeimon nuzzled the little boy with his muzzle and received a warm hug.

"You're not scared anymore?" Yiniyamon asked Kouichi gently.

He shook his head. "Nuh-uh." He sniffed. "I…I'm gonna be okay now."

Yiniyamon smiled. "I'm glad."

Yanagamon looked down at Kouji. "You too?"

"I'm not scared of nothin'." The younger twin said firmly, but wrapped his arms around his Digimon friend.

Junpei had a slight frown on his face as he looked up at Kaminarimon. The blue Digimon buzzed over to him. "You gonna be okay, buddy?"

The oldest child kicked a bit at the slowly-gathering snow, then sighed. "Yeah…I guess so."

"Hey, what's with the tough guy act?" Kaminarimon buzzed, landing and blinking up at him from his all-eights position. "You gonna miss me that much?"

"Well, whattya want me to do?" Junpei exclaimed. "Do you _want_ me to cry? It that it?"

"Of course not!" Kaminarimon grinned up at him. "I wouldn't wanna remember you like that. I want you to _smile_. You look better that way."

Junpei stared at him, then let a shaky smile creep over his face. "The-There. Y-You happy now?"

Kaminaimon's eyes closed happily with a smile. "Always."

Flamon looked down as Takuya sniffed lightly, covering his eyes with his arm. The Digimon lowered himself down, but the boy turned away. "Takuya…"

"What?" The boy snapped, but his voice was more teary than mean. "What d'ya want?"

Flamon's elf-like ears twitched slightly and he reached out to touch his friend's shoulder. "Don't be sad."

"I'm not!" Takuya pulled away. "If you wanna go, then go! I-I don't care. Just…go!"

Flamon blinked at his friend, then sighed slightly. "You know…about Shinya…"

"What about him?"

"He's not that different from Tomoki-chan, you know."

Takuya spun around, his eyes falling on the toddler who was still cuddling Kemmeimon. Flamon smiled at him, closing his eyes with a cute, happy smile. "You took real good care of him tonight, Takuya. I bet you could do it with your brother, too…If you tried."

"Flamon…" Takuya's bottom lip trembled a bit as he turned back to his flaming Digimon friend. "You…You're gonna come back, right? You gotta come back! You just gotta!"

"I dunno about that…" Flamon said, putting his arms around his friend. "But I know I'll see _you _again, Takuya!"

The goggle-wearing boy sniffed with a smile. "Promise?"

"Promise!"

The shimmering light seamed almost to smile.

The wind around them, smelling fresh and clean as a warm summer's day, suddenly picked up. The Digimon, straightening on instinct, suddenly found themselves light as bubbles.

Fushamon floating up first, pulling Izumi close one last time, followed by a buzzing, waving Kaminarimon. Yiniyamon and Yanagamon were lifted at precisely the same time, smiling down at the twins as the boys' hands found each other comfortingly. Kemmeimon tipped Tomoki into Takuya's hold as he and Flamon left the ground, drifting up with the others, their bodies fading and shimmering as they did.

"_Children of the Human World." _The Voice called soothingly. "_With all my heart, I thank you for what you have done for us. It has, indeed, been more than you can ever imagine."_

Tomoki squirmed in Takuya's arms, stretching his tiny hand to open and close towards the sky. "Bai-bai Kemmeimon!"

The twins waved together with opposite hands, smiling up at Yiniyamon and Yanagamon silently. Izumi choked in one last stuttering sob and bit her lip to bid farewell, Junpei trying his very hardest to keep a broad smile on his face as he waved eagerly.

Flamon's green eyes turned to each of them with a soft gaze, contemplating everything that had happened. "…Lord Lucemon." He whispered after a moment. "I think I…understand."

"Flamon!" Takuya shouted up, unable to wave with his arms full of two-year-old. His brown eyes still glistened with tears, but his face was set with a strange kind of eager determination. "You better keep your promise!"

"Oh yeah." Flamon grinned broadly. "I definitely understand…"

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

**The Digital World - Continent of Light**

**Human World Time: December 17th, 1996**

"But Lord Lucemon…!"

"Flamon." The remarkably young-looking Angel Digimon sighed from his throne, raised high above the floor of the castle's great hall. "I am only asking you to try to understand…"

"Well, I _don't_ understand!" The Rookie-level Warrior of Flame shouted, stomping his bare foot.

Fushamon whimpered softly. "Flamon…calm down…"

"How can I calm down?" Flamon snapped, looking back up at Lucemon with tears brimming in his eyes. "After all this time…everything you've done for us, for the Digital World…how can you ask us to turn again you, Lord Lucemon?"

"I don't get it, either." Yanagamon's voice was much calmer than Flamon's as he stepped forward. "Lord Lucemon, we could never fight against you. You're the one who raised us, trained us. You knew what we were when you first came to us, and you taught us to accept that."

"You're like our father." Yiniyamon added in a soft whisper, stepping up next to his partner. The Warriors of Light and Darkness were best friends and had been since their meeting, by now they were nearly inseparable. "And you've always done what was best for the Digital World, Lord Lucemon."

"We could never turn against you!" Kaminarimon buzzed, hovering in the air on his blurred wings before landing again.

A soft smile unfolded over Lucemon's sweet, child-like face. "Thank you, Little Ones. For your love, and your trust." He whispered, a kind yet strong tone that echoed through the entire hall. "However…I fear that the time may soon come when you can no longer trust me to do what is best for the Digital World."

The mumbling and protests echoed from the ten gather Rookies once again. "Never!" Exclaimed the Spirit of Earth. "Never that happen!"

"How can you say such things, Lord Lucemon?" Kemmeimon demanded in a low growl.

"I have seen it." Lucemon proclaimed with a sad tone. "Just as I saw each of you, my Little Ones, from the moment your destinies became clear. In the same way I watched the Elements that make up out world choose each of you as their prophesied Warriors, so too have I seen another prophecy come to fruit…That of my own corruption and betrayal to our cause."

The Warrior of Water drew in a sharp breath. "It can't be…It just can't!"

Lucemon stood from his throne and stepped off the platform, floating slowly down through the air. "You all know of the powers that lie within each of you." He spoke softly, never taking his blue eyes from them. "The Spirits of our world's founding elements have chosen you as their Warriors…the Legendary Warriors who are meant to protect and guide this world for the good of all its inhabitants. But I fear you may not yet quite understand what is asked of you."

"What do you mean?" Fushamon asked, her face pulled slightly in confusion. "We protect the Digital World by stopping the fights between Human and Beast types… as you taught us."

Lucemon smiled at her, patting her feathered head warmly. "Indeed. And you have all done a splendid job of that." He said softly. "However, you cannot depend on what I have asked of you, you must learn to decide the right and the wrong for yourselves."

"That we do already, yeah?" The Spirit of Wood asked.

"Not quite." Lucemon sighed, closing his eyes as he paused in front of them all. "As I said before, you do not yet know what is asked of you. Our world is not the only one at risk here."

"Wait!" Kaminarimon exclaimed in the tone of one who has just put two and two together. "There's another _world_? Like, besides ours?"

Lucemon smiled cryptically. "Indeed."

Kemmeimon growled just a bit. "Why should we worry about them? We've got our own world to take care of."

"You shall soon see." Lucemon turned to the Ice-Warrior calmly, but addressed the entire group. "That is…if you will agree to see it for yourselves."

There was a stunned silence, then Flamon stuttered, "W-Wait, Lord Lucemon, you mean…_leave_ the Digital World?"

"Only for a visit." Lucemon's blue eyes glistened in a rather strange manner. "The creatures of that world are quite different from we Digimon, not nearly as vivid…nor as physically strong. However, their spirits are just as powerful as your own, and they are equally as versatile. They have much that they will be able to teach you…if you wish."

The ten Rookie glanced at each other hesitantly, a few mumbled worried being expressed in soft tones. Lucemon smiled at them warmly. "I will not force you to go, if you truly wish not to." He laughed softly. "The purpose of this excursion is to better yourselves. I am only asking this as a…personal favor."

What followed was yet another moment of hesitant silence as the Warriors contemplated their own thoughts. The Yiniyamon stepped forward with all the silence and grace of the shadows he mastered.

"If Lord Lucemon would wish it…" He whispered, looking up at the Angel Digimon with humble eyes and a modest expression. "I'll go."

Lucemon smiled at him and patted his head. Yanagamon darted forward, next to the cat. "Me too!" He insisted, to no one's surprise. It was well known that he was very protective of Yiniyamon, and would follow his friend anywhere.

Fushamon rustled her feathers in anticipation. "Well then…I'll go too!"

"And me!" Kaminarimon chimed, shooting his favorite flying companion a big grin.

Lucemon nodded to each of them, turning slightly. "And you, Flamon?"

The Flame-Warrior frowned at the floor, then sighed. "If…If you think it's best, Lord Lucemon, I'll do it."

"As will I." Kemmeimon growled softly, padding up next to him. "Anything my Lord wishes of me shall be done."

A light smile crossed Lucemon's face. "And the rest of you?"

The Warrior of Steel, who until this point had opted to remain silent, planted his feet. "With the greatest respect, My Lord, I choose to abstain." He reported royally. "My loyalty is to you and to this world alone. It is inconceivable to think of being turned against you, My Lord."

"I ain't goin' either." Piped the Water Warrior. "I'm stayin' with you, Lord Lucemon, no matter what!"

The Warriors of Wood and Earth chimed in their own agreements.

"Very well, then." Lucemon sighed. "I suspected that it would turn out as such. You four shall remain here in the Digital World and watch over it until your companions have returned. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" The four chorused.

"As for the rest of you…" Lucemon turned the softest of loving gazes to the other six as he lead them from the Great Hall and into the castle itself. "There are a few… perperations…that must be made before your journey may be completed safely…"

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

**Tokyo, Japan - Odaiba District**

**December 24th, 1996 - 11:59 PM**

The six children watched in a saddened sort of awe as their friends faded slowly into the light, now to the point of transparent colors in the midst of the glow.

"_Farewell, children." _Whispered the voice, one last time. "_Until next we meet…farewell."_

The light grew brighter, shrinking into one huge, white-hot bubble high above the park. Quite suddenly, it burst, blinding them all for a moment and showering them with airy white sparks. When it cleared, they looked again and saw nothing but cloudy, gray sky.

"…Bai-bai." Tomoki mumbled, and the others echoed him silently from within.

A loud, metallic-sounding bell tone suddenly startled them, prompting a group jump. "What's that?"

Another tone followed, and another and another. "It's the clock." Kouji sighed, pointing at the glowing green numbers in the distance. "Just…the clock."

The mechanical chimes echoed through the artifical island, all twelve of them. The children just stood there, listening silently as the snow slowly began to gatehr and pile around them.

As the last chime faded, Takuya found it fit to speak. "Merry Christmas, everybody."

The others echoed him, this time vocally.

"Tomoki!" A new voice suddenly rang out, frantic and hurried. "Tomoki-chan, where _are_ you?"

The toddler squirmed, blinking towards the voice. "Mama!"

"Easy there." Takuya shifted his grip to keep ahold of the two year old. He glanced at the others, his eyes landing on the twins, and sighed. "I better get this guy home."

"Good luck with that." Kouji smirked.

"Kouji…" Kouichi tugged on his twin's arm. "We gotta go, too! Mama'll be worried about us."

Izumi stretched sleepily, rubbing her eye. "Daddy must be lookin' for me, too."

"You want me to walk you home?" Junpei offered gallantly, and was rewarded with a small smile and a shake of the pretty blonde head.

One by one, the group said its goodbyes and split off. No names were asked for, no addresses were given, and no contact was bothered to be kept. The y didn't need it. All that bound them was one cold Christmas Eve spent together in a lonely, man-made park…

And a game that was just wait to begin.

**( - ) ( - ) ( - )**

"_Do you ever wonder why the Spirits chose us?"_

_**More More Happy Christmas - END**_


End file.
